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FOREST  TEEES  AND 
FOREST  SCENERY 


A  River  Scene  in  Florida 


FOREST  TREES  A]N^D 
FOREST   SCENERY 

BY 

G.  FREDEKICK   SCHWARZ 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

THE  GRAFTON   PRESS 

1901 


Copyright,  1901,  by 
G,  Frederick  Schavarz 


PEEFACE 

In  the  ensuing  pages  I  have  made  simple 
inquiries  into  the  sources  of  beauty  and  at- 
tractiveness in  American  forest  trees  and 
sylvan  scenery.  In  the  concluding  chapter, 
by  way  of  contrast,  I  have  given  a  short  ac- 
count of  the  esthetic  effects  of  the  artificial 
forests  of  Europe.  The  system  which  shaped 
these  forests  and  gave  them  their  present  ap- 
pearance should,  however,  possess  more  than 
a  comparative  interest  for  Americans.  It 
has,  in  fact,  a  further  connection,  though  a 
slight  one,  with  the  subject,  and  therefore 
requires  a  few  words  of  explanation. 

It  is  well  known  that  in  many  parts  of 
Europe  the  forests  have  long  been  subjected 
to  a  systematic  treatment  known  as  forestry. 
The  term,  at  first  strange,  is  gradually  be- 
coming quite  familiar  to  us  Americans,  for 
the  application  of  this  comparatively  new 
science  has  already  begun  in  many  sections 


PREFACE 


of  our  country.  The  principles  of  European 
forestry  will  naturally  undergo  many  modifi- 
cations in  their  new  environment,  and  the 
vastness  of  our  forest  areas,  as  well  as  the 
long  life  that  naturally  belongs  to  trees,  will 
impose  a  very  gradual  progress.  Neverthe- 
less, the  movement  for  a  rational  use  of  our 
forests  is  rapidly  advancing  and  is  certain 
in  time  to  find  a  very  wide  application. 

Although  the  aims  of  forestry  are  utili- 
tarian and  not  artistic,  the  technical  char- 
acter of  the  operations  which  it  involves  im- 
presses upon  natural  forest  scenery  a  changed 
aspect.  Eventually  the  work  performed  upon 
our  forests  will  be  manifested  in  a  new  outward 
appearance,  a  change  that  cannot  but  be  pref- 
erable to  the  scenes  ordinarily  presented  by 
our  cut-over  and  abandoned  timberlands,  and 
one  that  will  be  appreciated  not  only  by  forest 
lovers  in  general,  but  also  by  those  who  are  en- 
gaged in  the  lumber  industry  itself,  who  are 
often  forced  through  competition  and  prevail- 
ing methods  to  leave  a  desolate  picture  behind, 
vi 


PKEFACE 

In  a  word,  forestry  interests  us  here  be- 
cause, having  already  obtained  a  foothold  in 
our  country,  through  it  forest  beauty  stands 
on  the  threshold  of  a  new  relationship.  This 
relationship,  which  is  to  grow  more  intimate 
with  time,  appears  to  justify  a  certain  dis- 
crimination in  the  choice  of  the  trees  and 
forests  herein  described,  and  an  occasional 
reference  to  some  of  the  less  technical  mat- 
ters of  forestry  that  may  incidentally  suggest 
themselves  as  being  of  some  interest  to  the 
general  reader.  To  have  attempted  more  than 
this  would  have  detracted  from  the  unity  of 
the  subject.  While  the  reader  may,  there- 
fore, find  in  these  pages  some  facts  that  are 
new  to  him,  he  will  notice  that  these  facts  have 
been  made  subordinate  to  the  leading  object 
of  the  book,  an  appreciation  of  the  esthetic 
value  of  some  of  our  commonest  forest  trees. 

The  illustrations  have  been  derived  from 
various  sources.  The  plates  facing  pages  38, 
58,  62,  64,  66, 116, 120, 130,  are  reproductions 
from  original  photographs  that  were  furnished 


PREFACE 


through  the  courtesy  of  the  Bureau  of  Fores- 
try, United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 
My  grateful  acknowledgments  are  due  Mr. 
Overton  W.  Price,  Assistant  Chief  of  the 
Bureau  of  Forestry,  for  photographs  chosen 
out  of  his  collection  to  supply  the  plates 
facing  pages  69,  148,  158.  The  remaining 
illustrations  have  been  reproduced  from  pho- 
tographs in  my  own  collection. 

Notes  of  reference,  which  are  indicated  by 
superior  figures  in  the  text,  and  an  index  to 
the  names  of  the  trees  that  have  been  de- 
scribed or  specially  referred  to  in  these  pages, 
will  be  found  at  the  close  of  the  book.  The 
index  has  been  compiled  from  a  well-known 
bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture,  entitled 
"Check  List  of  the  Forest  Trees  of  the  United 
States."  Courteous  acknowledgment  is  here 
made  to  the  author,  Mr.  George  B.  Sudworth, 
and  to  the  Division  of  Publications,  of  the 
same  Department,  for  kind  permission  to 
make  extracts  from  the  bulletin  referred  to. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I  Forest  Trees 1 

The  Broadleaf  Trees 3 

The  Cone-Bearers 29 

II  Forest  Adornment 63 

m  Distribution  of  American  Forests  83 

IV  Character  of  the  Broadleaf  Forests    97 

V  The  Coniferous  Forests 116 

VI  The  Artificial  Forests  of  Europe      .  141 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 
A  River  Scene  in  Florida      ....  Frontispiece 

racing  page 

Foliage  of  the  White  Oak 8 

Spray  of  the  Sugar  Maple 12 

Spray  of  the  Red  Maple 12 

The  Dogwood  in  Bloom 22 

Tulip  Trees 26 

Character  of  the  White  Pine 34 

Sugar  Pines 36 

A  Pinery  in  the  South 38 

The  Bull  Pine  in  its  California  Home      ...  40 

A  Silver  Fir  at  Middle  Age 50 

Redwood  Forest  in  California 58 

Devastation  in  the  Forest 60 

Where  the  Sheep  Have  Been 62 

A  Passageway  through  Granite  Rocks    ...  64 

Shrubbery  and  River  Birches.    New  Jersey    .  66 

Fern  Patch  in  a  Grove  of  White  Birch   ...  69 

A  Yucca  in  the  Chaparral 78 

xi 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing  page 

Virgin  Forest  Scene  in  Florida 110 

A  Group  of  Conifers,    Montana 116 

Mount  Rainier.    Washington 120 

A  Thicket  of  White  Firs 125 

An  Open  Forest  in  the  Southwest 130 

A  Storm-beaten  Veteran 132 

A  German  "  Selection  Forest " 148 

A  "High  Forest"  of  Spruce  in  Saxony  .     .     .  158 


xii 


FOREST  TREES  ANT> 
FOREST   SCENERY 


■  One  impulse  from  a  vernal  wood 
May  teach  you  more  of  man, 

Of  moral  evil  and  of  good, 
Than  all  the  sages  can." 

Wordsworth. 


xiv 


FOREST  TREES 

THE  beauty  of  a  forest  is  not  simple 
in  character,  but  is  due  to  many 
separate  sources.  The  trees  contribute 
much ;  the  shrubs,  the  rocks,  the  mosses, 
play  their  part;  the  purity  of  the  air, 
the  forest  silence,  the  music  of  wind  in 
the  trees  —  these  and  other  influences 
combine  to  produce  woodland  beauty 
and  charm.  A  first  consideration,  how- 
ever, should  be  to  know  the  beauty  that 
is  revealed  by  the  trees  themselves. 

Here  it  will  be  wise  to  make  a  selec- 
tion :  to  choose  out  of  the  great  variety 
of  our  forest  flora  those  trees  that  most 
1 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

deserve  our  attention.  Many  of  our 
forest  trees  have  naturally  a  restricted 
range ;  others  are  narrowing  or  widen- 
ing their  range  through  human  inter- 
ference ;  still  others  have  already  es- 
tablished their  right  to  a  preeminence 
among  the  trees  of  the  future,  because, 
possessing  to  an  unusual  degree  the 
qualities  that  will  make  them  amenable 
to  the  new  and  improved  methods  of 
treatment  known  as  "forestry,"  they 
are  certain  to  receive  special  care  and 
attention;  while  those  that  are  not  so 
fortunate  will  be  left  to  fight  their  own 
battles,  or  may  even  be  exterminated 
to  make  room  for  the  more  useful 
kinds.  Among  all  these  the  rarest  are 
not  necessarily  the  most  beautiful. 
Those  that  are  commonest  and  most 
useful  are  often  distinguished  for  qual- 
2 


FOKEST  TREES 


ities  that  please  the  eye  or  appeal  di- 
rectly to  the  mind. 

In  accordance  with  the  ideas  already 
expressed  in  the  Preface,  the  considera- 
tions that  will  determine  what  trees  shall 
be  described  are  as  follows :  first,  trees 
of  beauty ;  next,  those  that  are  common 
and  familiar;  finally,  those  that  are  im- 
portant both  for  the  present  and  the  fu- 
ture because  they  are  useful  and  have 
an  extended  geographical  distribution. 

The  trees  selected  for  description 
will  here  be  di^  ided  into  the  two  con- 
ventional groups  of  broadleaf  species 
and  conifers,  beginning  with  the  former. 

THE  BROADLEAF   TREES 

In  the  "  Landscape  Gardening "  of 
Downing  we  read  concerning  the  oak, — 
3 


FOREST  TEEES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

"When  we  consider  its  great  and 

surpassing  utility  and  beauty,  we  are 

fully  disposed  to  concede  it  the  first 

rank  among  the  denizens  of  the  forest. 

Springing  up  with  a  noble  trunk,  and 

stretching  out  its  broad  limbs  over  the 

soil, 

*  These  monarchs  of  the  wood, 
Dark,  gnarled,  centennial  oaks,' 

seem  proudly  to  bid  defiance  to  time; 
and  while  generations  of  man  appear 
and  disappear,  they  withstand  the 
storms  of  a  thousand  winters,  and  seem 
only  to  grow  more  venerable  and 
majestic." 

It  would  be  difficult  to  say  whether 
Downing  had  any  particular  species  of 
oak  in  mind  when  he  wrote  these  words. 
The  common  white  oak  and  the  several 
species  of  red  and  black  oak  possess  in 
4 


FOREST  TREES 


an  eminent  degree  the  grandeur  and 
strength  which  he  describes  and  for 
which  we  commonly  admire  the  tree. 

Of  all  the  oaks^  the  white  oak  is 
the  most  important.  This  tree  will 
impress  us  differently  as  we  see  it 
in  the  open  field  or  in  the  dense  forest. 
Where  it  stands  by  itself  in  the  full 
enjoyment  of  light,  it  has  a  round- 
topped,  dome- shaped  crown,  and  is 
massive  and  well  poised  in  all  its  parts. 
Quite  as  often,  however,  we  shall  see 
it  gathered  into  little  groups  of  three  or 
four  on  the  greensward  of  some  gently 
sloping  hill,  where  it  has  a  graceful 
way  of  keeping  company.  The  groups 
are  full  of  expression,  the  effect  is  di- 
versified from  tree  to  tree,  yet  harmoni- 
ous in  the  whole.  In  the  denser  forest 
the  white  oak  often  reaches  noble  pro- 
5 


FOREST  TREES  A^^D  FOREST  SCENERY 

portions  and  assumes  its  most  indi- 
vidual expression.  There  it  mounts 
proudly  upward,  contending  in  height 
at  wide  intervals  with  sugar  maples 
and  tulip  trees,  its  common  associates 
in  the  forest.  Its  lofty  crown  may  be 
seen  at  a  distance,  lifted  conspicuously 
above  the  heads  of  its  neighbors.  Stand 
beneath  it,  however,  and  look  up  at  its 
lower  branches,  and  there  is  revealed 
an  intricacy  of  branchwork  and  a  tortu- 
osity of  limb  such  as  is  unattained 
when  it  stands  alone  in  the  field.  The 
boldness  with  which  the  white  oak  will 
sometimes  throw  out  its  limbs  abruptly, 
and  twist  and  Wiethe  to  the  outermost 
twig,  I  have  never  seen  quite  equaled  in 
the  other  oaks.  The  live  oak,  it  must 
be  admitted,  is  even  more  abrupt  where 
the  lunb  divides  from  the  trunk,  but 
6 


FOREST  TREES 


it  does  not  continue  its  vagaries  to 
the  end. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  these  forms  are 
not  without  a  purpose  and  a  meaning. 
Under  difficulties  and  obstacles  the 
twigs  and  branches  have  groped  their 
way ;  often  one  part  has  been  sacrificed 
for  the  good  of  another,  in  order  that 
all  gifts  of  air,  and  moisture,  and  light 
might  be  received  in  the  fullness  of 
then'  worth.  Thus  the  entire  frame- 
work of  the  tree  becomes  infused 
with  life  and  meaning,  almost  with 
sense,  and  its  character  is  reflected  in 
its  expression. 

The  observer  is  also  impressed  by 
the  character  of  the  foliage.  The 
leaves  are  usually  rather  blunt  and 
ponderous,  varying  a  little  —  as,  in- 
deed, do  those  of  several  other  trees 
7 


FOEEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

—  according  to  the  nature  of  their  en- 
vironment. They  clothe  the  tree  in 
profusion,  but  do  not  hide  the  beauty 
of  the  ramification  of  its  branches.  In 
truth,  they  are  not  devoid  of  beauty 
themselves.  It  was  natural  for  Lowell 
to  exclaim, — 

A  little  of  thy  steadfastness, 

Rounded  with  leafy  gracefulness, 
Old  oak,  give  me. 

While  the  leaves  of  the  white  oak  do 
not  deflect  and  curve  as  much  in  their 
growth  as  those  of  some  of  the  more 
graceful  and  elegant  trees,  they  never- 
theless fall  into  natural  and  pleasing 
groups,  unfolding  a  pretty  variation  as 
they  work  out  their  patient  spiral  as- 
cent, leaf  after  leaf,  round  the  stemlet; 
showing  a  changefulness  in  the  sizes  of 
8 


i  uliciue  of  the  White  Oak 


FOREST  TEEES 


the  several  leaves,  and  a  choice  in  the 
spacing.  In  the  first  weeks  of  leafing- 
time  there  is  to  be  added  to  these 
features  the  effects  derived  from  tran- 
sitions of  color  in  the  leaves.  For  the 
very  young  leaves  are  not  green,  but 
of  a  deep  rose  or  dusky  gray.  They 
are  velvety  in  texture,  and  lie  nestling 
w^ithin  the  groups  of  the  larger  green 
leaves  that  have  preceded  them.  Just 
as  it  was  said  a  little  while  ago  that 
there  was  expressiveness  throughout 
the  branches,  it  may  now  be  said  that 
there  is  a  fitness  of  the  foliage  for  all 
parts  of  the  tree. 

In  winter,  however,  the  beauty  of  the 
oak's  foliage  is  gone.  The  dry  leaves 
still  hang  on  the  boughs,  sometimes 
even  until  spring,  but  they  look  dishev- 
eled and  dreary.  Still,  they  are  not 
9 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

without  some  esthetic  value,  though  it 
be  through  the  seuse  of  hearing  instead 
of  sight.     Thoreau  sa}  s, — 

"  The  dry  rustle  of  the  withered  oak- 
leaves  is  the  voice  of  the  wood  in  winter. 
It  sounds  like  the  roar  of  the  sea,  and  is 
inspirating  like  that,  suggesting  how  all 
the  land  is  seacoast  to  the  aerial  ocean." 

Deep  and  glorious,  too,  is  the  light 
that  rests  in  the  oak  woods  on  mid- 
summer days.  It  filters,  softened  and 
subdued,  through  the  wealth  of  foliage, 
and  wraps  us  in  a  mellow  radiance.  Its 
purity  and  calm  depth  lift  the  senses  to 
a  higher  level.  Most  limpid  is  the  light 
in  a  misty  shower,  when  the  sun  is  low 
and  the  level  rays  break  through  the 
moist  leaves  and  dampened  air,  while 
we  stand  within  and  see  everything 
bathed  in  a  golden  luster. 
10 


FOREST   TREES 


Our  common  chestnut  is  of  less 
economic  value  than  the  oak,  but  one 
suggests  the  other,  for  the  two  are 
often  found  together  and  are  similar  in 
size  and  habit.  The  chestnut  is,  in 
truth,  one  of  our  finest  deciduous  trees. 
It  has  a  luxuriance  of  healthy,  dark- 
green  foliage,  and  is  happy-looking  in 
its  abundance  of  yellow-tasseled  blos- 
soms. It  is  even  more  beautiful  in 
August,  when  the  young  burs  mingle 
their  even  tinge  of  brown  with  the 
fresh  green  of  the  glossy  leaves.  In 
old  age  it  has  the  same  firmness  that 
is  so  noticeable  in  the  oak,  and  seems 
to  be  just  as  regardless  of  the  winds 
and  gales. 

The  character  of  the  leaf  and  the 
manner  in  which  the  branches  of  a  tree 
divide  and  ramify  have  so  much  to  do 
11 


FOEEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

with  certain  beautiful  effects,  that  I 
shall  make  some  remarks  on  these  fea- 
tures in  two  of  our  maples.  The  sugar 
or  hard  maple  is  the  most  useful 
member  of  this  genus,  and  may  advan- 
tageously be  compared  with  the  red 
maple,  which  is  perhaps  more  beautiful. 
It  is  of  great  advantage  to  both  of 
these  trees  that  the  sweep  of  their 
branches,  which  is  carried  out  in  ample, 
undulating  lines,  is  in  perfect  harmony 
with  the  elegance  of  their  foliage.  In  the 
sugar  maple  the  latter  spreads  over  the 
boughs  in  soft  and  pleasing  contours. 
The  leaves  are  a  trifle  larger  than  those 
of  the  red  maple,  and  their  edges  are 
wavy  or  flowing,  while  their  surfaces 
are  slightly  undulating  and  have  less 
luster  than  those  of  the  other  tree. 
They  are  thus  well  fitted  to  receive  a 
12 


Spray  of  the  Sugar  Maple 


Spray  of  the  Red  Maple 


FOEEST  TREES 


flood  of  light  without  being  in  danger 
of  presenting  a  clotted  appearance. 
The  petioles,  or  little  leaf-stems,  as- 
sume a  more  horizontal  position  than 
they  do  in  the  red  maple,  and  the  twigs 
are  usually  shorter,  which  allows  a 
denser  richness  in  the  foliage,  which 
every  breeze  plays  upon  and  ruffles  as 
it  passes  by. 

The  red  maple  has  a  more  airy  look. 
This  is  due  partly  to  the  character 
of  the  leaf,  but  primarily  to  that  of 
the  branchwork.  The  main  branches 
spread  out  in  easy,  flowing  lines,  much 
as  they  do  in  the  sugar  maple;  but 
they  assume  an  ampler  range,  and  the 
last  divisions,  the  twigs,  take  on  de- 
cided curves,  rising  to  right  and  left. 
On  these  the  leaves  multiply,  each  leaf 
poised  lightly  upon  its  curved  petiole. 
13 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

As  compared  with  the  leaf  of  its  con- 
gener, that  of  the  red  maple  is  firmer 
and  a  shade  lighter,  especially  under- 
neath. It  is  also  more  agile  in  the 
wind.  The  effect  of  the  whole  is 
more  that  of  a  shower  of  foliage  than 
of  pillowed  masses.  The  curving  lines, 
the  elastic  spring  of  every  part,  and  a 
kind  of  freedom  among  the  many  leaves, 
make  the  red  maple  one  of  the  cheer- 
fullest  of  trees. 

The  sugar  maple  is  the  larger  of  the 
two,  and  seeks  the  intervales  and  up- 
lands, where  its  size  is  well  set  off  in 
the  landscape.  The  red  maple,  which 
finds  its  natural  home  along  river- 
banks  and  in  moist  places,  is  interest- 
ing at  all  seasons.  When  young  it  is 
particularly  attractive  in  summer  where 
it  fringes  lakes  and  streams.  In  winter 
14 


FOREST   TREES 


its  bright,  red  twigs  present  a  pleasing 
contrast  to  the  gray  bark  or  to  the 
snow-covered  earth.  In  the  earliest 
days  of  spring  the  little  scarlet  blos- 
soms break  out  in  tufts  that  soon  ripen 
into  brilliant  little  keys,  looking  very 
pretty  where  they  intermingle  with  the 
pale  green  of  the  opening  leaves. 

There  is,  in  fact,  more  color  in  the 
woods  in  the  opening  days  of  spring 
than  is  generally  admitted  or  noticed. 
Many  kinds  of  trees  unfold  their  leaves 
in  some  tender  shade  of  rose  or  golden 
brown;  while  others  lend  a  distinct 
color  to  a  whole  section  of  forest  by 
the  opening  of  their  early  blossoms. 

The  maples,  however,  are  chiefly 
famous  for  their  wonderful  richness  of 
color  in  the  fall  of  the  year;  particu- 
larly the  sugar  and  the  red  maple,  whose 
15 


FOEEST  TEEES  AND  FOEEST  SCENEEY 

brilliancy  at  this  season  it  would  be 
difficult  to  match.  They  exhibit,  in 
truth,  a  gamut  of  beautiful  tones,  from 
pale  yellow  to  deep  orange,  and  from 
bright  scarlet  to  vivid  crimson.  They 
are  among  the  first  to  change  the 
color  of  their  leaves,  but  are  quickly 
followed  by  other  species  of  trees, 
whose  varying  hues  blend  together  and 
enrich  the  autumn  landscape.  The 
"  scarlet "  and  "  red  "  oaks  now  justify 
their  names;  the  flowering  dogwood 
and  the  sweet  gum  show  their  soft 
depth  of  purple;  the  milder  tulip  tree 
takes  on  a  golden  tint  and  shimmers 
in  the  sun,  mingling  with  ruddy  horn- 
beams, browned  beeches,  variegated 
sassafras  trees,  or  the  fiery  foliage  of 
the  tupelos.  The  swamps  are  aflame 
with  the  brilliancy  of  red  maples,  con- 
16 


FOREST  TREES 


trasting  with  the  quieter  tones  of  alders 
and  willows. 

We  may  speak  of  brilliancy  and 
color  in  our  leafy  woods  at  the  ebb- 
tide of  the  year;  but  to  know  their 
beauty  well  we  must  walk  among  the 
trees.  Nor  can  pictures  tell  us  all  the 
truth  about  the  tints  of  autumn.  How 
should  we  receive  from  them  the  at- 
mospheric effects  that  nature  gives, 
and  the  indescribable  blending  and 
softening  that  comes  from  innumerable 
rays  of  diffused  and  reflected  light? 
The  beauty  also  changes  from  day  to 
day  and  from  hour  to  hour,  for  weeks. 

Some  of  the  other  broadleaf  trees 
deserve  to  be  noticed,  though  in  less 
detail,  as  objects  of  beauty  in  the  forest. 
The  honey  locust,  one  of  our  largest 
trees  of  this  class,  is  distinguished 
17 


FOKEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

principally  for  the  elegant  forms  of 
its  branches.  The  smaller  divisions, 
the  twigs,  follow  a  zigzag  course  which 
in  itself  is  not  beautiful,  but  the  effect 
is  so  bound  up  with  the  complex  spiral 
evolutions  of  the  larger  divisions,  the 
boughs  and  branches,  that  the  result  is 
only  to  heighten  the  elegance  of  the 
latter.  The  foliage  of  this  tree  is  very 
delicate,  being  composed  of  numerous 
elliptically  shaped  leaflets,  that  are 
gathered  into  sprays  that  hang  airily 
among  the  bold  and  sweeping  boughs. 
Much  might  be  said  here  in  com- 
mendation of  the  sassafras  tree,  were 
it  economically  more  important.  Its 
brown,  sculptured  bark  is  very  attrac- 
tive, and  its  yellowish  blossoms,  that 
break  in  early  spring,  are  fragrant. 
The  leaves  are  of  several  shades  of 
18 


FOKEST  TREES 


green,  and  vary  considerably  in  out- 
line. When  in  full  leaf,  the  outward 
form  of  the  tree  is  striking  in  appear- 
ance, its  foliage  being  massed  into 
rounded  and  hemispherical  shapes  that 
group  themselves  in  the  crown  of  the 
tree  in  well-proportioned  and  tasteful 
outlines. 

The  birches,  too,  are  very  attractive 
trees,  especially  where  they  have  ample 
room  to  develop.  The  white  birch  ap- 
pears at  its  best  where  it  is  sprinkled 
in  moderation  among  open  groves  of 
other  trees.  To  the  forester  it  is  of 
some  importance,  as  its  seedlings  rap- 
idly cover  denuded  or  burnt  areas. 
They  also  shield  from  excessive  sun- 
light or  from  frost  the  seedlings  of 
more  valuable  kinds  that  may  have 
sprouted  in  their  welcome  shade ;  until, 
19 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

gaining  strength,  the  latter  after  a 
few  years  push  up  their  tops  between 
the  open  foUage  of  their  protecting 
"  nurses."  The  white  birch  may  be  seen 
performing  this  good  office  in  many  a 
fire-scarred  piece  of  woodland  through- 
out the  Northeastern  States.  Often, 
too,  we  see  it  standing  a  little  apart, 
as  at  the  edge  of  a  forest;  its  slender 
branches  drooping  around  the  pure 
white  trunk  and  its  agile  leaves  gleam- 
ing as  they  wave  in  the  light  breeze. 
It  is  like  one  of  those  single  notes  in 
music  that  glide  into  universal  harmony 
with  irresistible  charm. 

The  yellow  birch,  on  the  contrary,  is 
most  beautiful  in  the  depth  of  the  for- 
est. It  is  a  large,  useful  tree.  In  the 
Adirondacks  I  have  often  admired 
its  tall,  straight  trunk  as  it  rose  above 
20 


FOREST  TREES 


the  neighboring  firs  and  spruces  and 
unfolded  its  large,  regular  crown  of 
dense  dark  foliage,  relieved  underneath 
by  the  thin,  shining,  silvery  to  golden- 
yellow  bark,  torn  here  and  there  into 
shreds  that  curled  back  upon  them- 
selves around  the  stem. 

The  white  elm,  well  represented  in 
the  avenues  of  ]!*^ew  England,  is  widely 
distributed.  It  is  a  tree  for  the  mea- 
dow, although  its  natural  grace  and, 
one  might  almost  say,  inborn  gentle- 
ness are  preserved  along  the  fringes 
of  the  forest  and  on  the  banks  of 
streams.  It  needs  some  room  to  show 
the  refinement  of  its  closely  interwoven 
spray.  Watch  its  beauty  as  it  sways 
in  the  light  wind ;  or  look  at  a  grove  of 
elms  after  a  hoar-frost  on  some  early 
morning  in  winter,  when  the  leaves  are 
21 


FOREST  TREES  AKD  FOREST  SCENERY 

gone  and  all  its  outlines  are  penciled 
in  finest  silver. 

The  flowering  dogwood  is  one  of  our 
smaller  trees,  but  is  exceptionally  fa- 
vored with  all  manner  of  beauty.  Al- 
though it  is  very  common  in  many 
of  the  States,  and  is  not  without  its 
special  uses,  it  occupies  a  subordinate 
position  in  the  eyes  of  the  forester,  be- 
ing often  no  more  than  a  mere  shrub 
in  form.  And  yet,  while  some  of  the 
larger  trees  by  their  majestic  presence 
lend  grandeur  to  the  forest,  the  dog- 
wood brings  to  it  a  charm  not  easily 
forgotten.  In  spring,  when  it  is  show- 
ered all  over  with  interesting,  large, 
creamy-white  flowers,  it  is  an  emblem 
of  purity.  Its  leaves,  which  appear 
very  soon  after  the  bloom,  are  ele- 
gantly curved  in  outline,  soft  of  tex- 
22 


The  Dogwood  in  Bloom 


FOREST  TREES 


ture,  light-green  in  summer,  and  of  a 
deep  crimson  or  rich  purple-maroon  in 
autumn."  In  winter  the  flowers  are 
replaced  by  bright,  red  berries.  Its 
spray  of  twigs  and  branchlets,  formed 
by  a  succession  of  exquisitely  propor- 
tioned waves  and  upward  curves,  is 
not  as  conspicuous,  though  hardly  less 
ornamental  at  this  season  than  the 
fruit. 

As  a  shrub,  being  among  the  very 
first  to  bloom,  it  decorates  the  forest 
borders  in  spring,  or  stands  conspicu- 
ously within  the  forest.  It  is  found 
everywhere  in  the  Appalachian  region. 
In  the  coastal  plain  it  is  associated 
with  the  longleaf  pine,  or  may  be  seen 
among  broadleaf  trees,  or  standing 
among  red  junipers,  as  tall  as  they  and 
quite  at  home  in  their  company. 
23 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

Before  turning  to  coniferous  trees, 
the  tulip  tree  deserves  some  attention 
on  account  of  its  usefulness,  its  ex- 
tended habitat,  and  its  beauty  as  a 
forest  tree.  It  is  closely  related  to  the 
magnolias,  to  which  belongs  the  big 
laurel  of  the  Gulf  region,  an  evergreen 
species  that  might  be  called  the  queen 
of  all  broadleaf  trees.  But  the  big 
laurel  must  here  give  place  to  the  tulip 
tree,  because  it  is  not  so  distinctively  a 
forest  tree,  and  is  much  more  restricted 
in  its  geographical  distribution. 

The  first  general  impression  of  the 
tulip  tree  is,  I  venture  to  say,  one  of 
strangeness.  There  is  a  foreign  look 
about  the  heavy,  truncated  leaves,  and 
an  oriental  luxury  in  the  large,  green- 
ish-yellow flowers.  These  appear  in 
May  or  June,  while  the  conelike  fruit 
24 


FOREST  TREES 


ripens  in  the  fall.  When  the  seeds 
have  scattered,  the  open  cones,  upright 
in  position,  remain  for  a  long  time  on 
the  tree,  where  they  are  strikingly 
ornamental. 

Esthetically  the  most  important  fea- 
ture of  the  tulip  tree  is  an  expression  of 
dignity  and  stateliness,  which  gives  it 
a  character  of  its  own.  Its  extraordi- 
nary size  renders  it  a  conspicuous  ob- 
ject in  the  forest,  the  more  so  because 
we  usually  find  it  associated  with  a  va- 
riety of  other  trees  of  quite  different 
aspect.  Michaux,  who  has  told  us 
much  about  the  forest  flora  of  the  east- 
ern United  States,  could  find  no  tree 
among  the  deciduous  kinds,  except  the 
buttonwood,  that  would  bear  compari- 
son with  it  in  size,  and  he  calls  it  "  one 
of  the  most  magnificent  vegetables  of 
25 


FOEEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

the  temperate  zone."  Its  columnar 
trunk  continues  with  unusual  straight- 
ness  and  regularity  nearly  to  the  sum- 
mit of  the  tree.  Its  limbs  and  branches 
divide  in  harmonious  proportions,  reach- 
ing out  as  if  conscious  of  their  strength, 
and  yet  with  sufficient  gracefulness  to 
lend  dignity  to  the  tree.  The  lower 
boughs,  especially,  are  inclined  to  as- 
sume an  elegant  sweep,  deflecting  side- 
wise  to  the  earth,  and  ending  with  an 
upward  curve  and  a  droop  at  the  outer 
extremity.  Often  the  crowded  envi- 
ronment of  the  forest  does  not  admit  of 
such  ample  development;  yet  even  un- 
der such  conditions  the  tulip  tree  pre- 
serves much  of  its  elegance  and  is  gen- 
erally well  balanced. 

A¥hen  young  it  does  not  appear  to 
much  advantage,  being  rather  too  sym- 
26 


Tulip  Trees 


FOREST   TREES 


metrical.  Nevertheless  I  have  found 
it  described  as  a  tree  of  "  great  refine- 
ment of  expression  "  at  that  age.  As 
soon  as  it  begins  to  put  on  a  richer 
crown  of  foliage  and  to  develop  a  stur- 
dier stem  and  more  elegant  lines  in  the 
disposition  of  its  branches,  it  becomes 
invested  with  its  peculiar  aspect  of 
magnificence,  increasing  in  graceful- 
ness and  grandeur  from  year  to  year. 
Its  bark,  at  first  smooth  and  gray,  grad- 
ually becomes  chiseled  with  sharp  small 
cuts;  then  takes  on  a  corrugated  ap- 
pearance, becomes  brown,  and  finally 
turns  into  deeply  furrowed  ridges  in 
the  old  tree.  Now  the  foliage,  too, 
seems  to  clothe  the  massive  boughs 
more  fitly,  being  denser  and  in  size  of 
leaves  more  in  accordance  with  the 
increased  dmiensions  of  the  tree. 
27 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCEKERY 

The  foliage  of  the  tuhp  tree  is,  in 
truth,  one  of  its  principal  points  of 
beauty,  and  is  inferior  only  to  the  state- 
liness  of  its  form.  The  opening  leaf- 
buds  are  conical,  exquisitely  modeled, 
and  of  the  tenderest  green.  The 
leaves  unfold  from  them  much  as  do 
the  petals  in  a  flower,  but  quickly 
spread  apart  on  the  stem.  As  they 
grow  larger  they  still  preserve  their 
light-green  color,  but  take  on  a  mild 
gloss.  They  are  ready  to  shift  and 
tremble  on  their  long  leaf-stalks  in 
every  breath  of  wind,  which  gives 
them  a  decided  air  of  cheerfulness. 
We  may  see  the  same  thing  in  the 
aspen  and  in  some  of  the  poplars.  Un- 
der the  tulip  tree,  however,  the  light 
that  descends  and  spreads  out  on  the 
ground  is  far  superior.  It  is  softer 
28 


FOEEST  TREES 


and  purer.  We  need  not  look  up  to 
appreciate  it,  but  may  watch  it  on  the 
soil,  over  which  it  moves  in  flecks  of 
light  and  dark. 

"  The  chequer' d  earth  seems  restless  as  a 

flood 
Brushed  by  the  winds,  so  sportive  is  the 

light 
Shot  through  the  boughs  ;  it  dances,  as 

they  dance, 
Shadow    and    sunshine    intermingling 

quick, 
And  dark'ning,  and  enlight'ning  (as  the 

leaves 
Play  wanton)  every  part." 


THE  CONE-BEAEERS 

The  cone-bearing  trees  are  usually 
provided  with   needle-shaped  or   awl- 
shaped  leaves,  in  contradistinction  to 
the   broad   and  flat   ones   that  belong 
29 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

to  the  group  described  in  the  preced- 
ing section  of  this  chapter.  Most  of 
them  preserve  their  foliage  through 
the  winter,  and  are  commonly  recog- 
nized by  this  evergreen  habit.  They 
are  much  more  important  to  the  for- 
ester than  the  other  class.  The  coni- 
fers grow  on  the  true  forest  soils. 
They  range  along  mountain  crests  or 
are  scattered  over  dry  and  semi-arid 
regions  or  along  the  sandy  seashore, 
while  the  broadleaf  species  usually 
require  a  better  soil  and  a  more 
congenial  climate.  This  circumstance 
causes  many  deciduous  forests  to  be 
cut  down,  in  order  that  the  better  land 
on  which  they  grow  may  be  utilized 
for  agricultural  purposes.  Moreover, 
the  wood  of  the  conifers  is  generally 
more  useful,  being  in  several  of  the 
30 


FOREST  TREES 


species  of  great  economic  importance. 
Lastly,  in  their  habit  of  denser  growth, 
and  from  the  fact  that  these  trees  are 
ordinarily  found  in  the  form  of  "  pure  " 
forests  (in  contradistinction  to  those 
forests  in  which  a  number  of  species 
grow  intermingled),  they  furnish  cer- 
tain very  important  conditions  for  prac- 
tical and  successful  forestry. 

The  common   white   pine    well    de- 
serves to  stand  at  the  head  of  all  the 
conifers  or  evergreens  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi.    Though  it  once  covered  vast 
areas  in  more  or  less  "pure"  forests 
it  has  been  largely  cut  away,  and  re- 
curring fires  have  generally  prevented 
its  return;  but  in  certain  places  it  could 
even  now  be  restored  by  careful  treat- 
■  ment.     At  present  the  last  remnants  of 
'  these  pineries  are  disappearing  swiftly, 
31 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

and  before  the  methods  of  the  forester 
can  be  applied  to  such  extensive  areas, 
this  valuable  heritage  will  probably 
have  vanished.  Heretofore  it  has  been 
to  us  Americans  in  the  supply  of  wood 
what  bread  and  water  are  in  daily  life. 
It  has  been  hardly  less  valued  by  other 
nations,  having  been  planted  as  a  forest 
tree  in  Germany  a  full  century  ago. 

I  cannot  say  what  I  admire  most  in 
the  white  pine;  whether  it  be  the  luxu- 
riance and  purity  of  its  foliage,  or  the 
very  graceful  spread  of  its  boughs. 
There  is  hardly  a  tree  that  can  equal 
it  for  softness  and  rich  color.  The 
tufts  of  needlelike  leaves  densely 
cover  the  upper  surfaces  of  the  spread- 
ing branches,  and  are  of  a  mild,  uni- 
formly pure  olive-green.  Seen  from 
beneath  they  appear  tangled  in  the 
32 


FOREST  TREES 


beautifully  interwoven  twigs  and 
stems.  It  is  here  that  we  first  begin 
to  notice  the  exquisite  manner  of  the 
white  pine.  The  boughs  reach  out 
horizontally,  with  here  and  there  one 
that  ascends  or  turns  aside  to  assume 
a  position  exceptionally  graceful  and 
to  fill  out  a  space  that  seems  specially 
to  have  been  vacated  for  it.  I  speak 
of  the  white  pine  at  the  age  preceding 
maturity,  when  it  is  in  its  full  strength, 
but  before  it  has  attained  the  pictur- 
esqueness  of  old  age.  Following  an 
easy  curve,  the  branch  divides  at  right 
and  left  into  dozens  of  finer  branch- 
lets,  all  extending  forward  and  strain- 
ing, as  it  were,  to  reach  the  light;  and 
these  in  turn  lift  up  hundreds  of  twigs 
and  little  stems  to  enrich  the  upper  sur- 
faces with  bushy  tufts  of  lithe  green 
33 


FOREST  TREP]S  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

needles.  The  elegance  of  this  habit 
in  the  white  pine  appears  to  advantage 
when  we  stand  a  little  above  it  on  a 
gentle  slope  and  see  the  branches 
clearly  defined  against  the  surface  of 
a  lake  below  or  some  far-away  gray 
cloud. 

Both  in  middle  age  and  when  it  is 
old  the  white  pine  is  a  distinguished- 
looking  tree.  When  young  it  is  some- 
times elegantly  symmetrical ;  but  more 
often,  owing  to  a  crowded  position,  it 
lacks  the  air  of  neatness  that  belongs 
to  a  few  of  the  other  pines  and  to  most 
of  the  firs.  At  maturity  it  is  a  very 
impressive  tree,  especially  in  the  dense 
forest,  where  it  develops  a  tall,  dark, 
stately  stem.  In  its  declining  years 
the  branches  begin  to  break  and  fall 
away,  no  longer  able  to  bear  the  weight 
34 


Character  of  the  White  Pine. 


FOEEST  TREES 


of   heavy   snows.      This   is   often   the 
time  when  it  is  most  picturesque. 

The  representatives  of  the  white  pine 
in  the  West  are  the  silver  pine  and 
the  sugar  pine.  Though  both  may  be 
easily  recognized  as  near  relatives  of 
the  eastern  species,  either  by  the  typical 
form  of  the  cones  or  by  the  plan  and 
structm^e  of  the  foliage,  each  of  the 
western  trees  possesses  a  majesty  and 
beauty  of  its  own.  The  silver  pine  is 
more  compact  in  its  branches  than  the 
white  pine,  and  has  somewhat  denser  and 
more  rigid  foliage.  Its  dark  aspect  is 
well  suited  to  the  mountains  and  ridges 
of  the  Northwest,  where  it  commonly 
abounds.  The  sugar  pine,  which  is  the 
tallest  of  all  pines,  impresses  us  by  its 
picturesque  individuality.  Its  great 
perpendicular  trunk  not  infrequently 
35 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

rises,  clear  of  limbs,  to  the  height  of 
a  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  is  sur- 
mounted by  an  open  pj^'amidal  crown 
of  half  that  length,  composed  of  long 
and  slender  branches  that  are  full  of 
motion.  While  the  texture  of  the  foli- 
age is  not  as  delicate  as  in  the  white 
pine,  it  is  smooth  and  elastic,  and  has 
an  even  bluish  tinge  that  shows  to  great 
advantage  when  the  needles  are  stirred 
by  the  wind.  Its  cones,  which  are  of 
enormous  size,  hang  in  clusters  from 
the  extremities  of  the  distant  boughs, 
which  droop  beneath  the  unusual  weight. 
Two  of  these  cones,  which  I  have  lying 
before  me,  measure  each  nineteen  inches 
in  length.  Well  might  Douglas,  the 
botanist  who  named  this  tree,  call  it 
"  the  most  princely  of  the  genus." 
The  longleaf  pines  of  the  Southern 
36 


Sugar  Pines 


Young  Bull  Pines  in  the  foreground  at  the  right 
and  an  Incense  Cedar  at  the  left. 


FOREST  TREES 


States  should  be  noticed  for  their  pic- 
turesqueness.  The  Cuban  pine  is  re- 
stricted to  isolated  tracts  in  the  region 
of  the  Gulf  and  eastern  Georgia.  The 
loblolly  pine  and  the  longleaf  pine,  near 
relatives  of  the  Cuban  pine,  cover  ex- 
tensive tracts  in  low,  level  regions  of 
the  Southern  States,  and  are  most  in- 
teresting in  old  age.  Standing,  it  may 
be,  on  a  sandy  plain  not  far  from  the 
sea,  among  straggling  palmettos,  they 
lift  their  ample  crowns  well  up  on  their 
tall,  straight  stems,  and  contort  their 
branches  into  surprising  forms;  so  that, 
looking  through  their  crowns  at  a  dis- 
tance in  the  dry,  hazy  air  of  the  South, 
with  possibly  a  red  sunset  sky  for  a 
background,  they  are  extremely  fan- 
tastic and  entertaining. 

There  are  two  other  pines  that  have 
37 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

a  similar  tortuous  habit  in  the  growth 
of  their  branches:  the  pitch  pine  of 
our  eastern  coast  States  and  the  lodge- 
pole  pine  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
These,  however,  have  an  esthetic  value 
for  quite  a  different  reason.  In  the 
case  of  the  pitch  pine  it  is  due  to 
a  natural  peculiarity  otherwise  rare 
among  conifers;  for,  this  tree  has  the 
power  of  sprouting  afresh  from  the 
stump  that  has  been  left  after  cutting 
or  forest  fires,  thus  healing  in  time  the 
raggedness  and  devastation  resulting 
from  necessity,  neglect,  or  indifference. 
The  lodgepole  pine  of  the  West  per- 
forms the  same  patient  work  over  burned 
areas  through  the  remarkable  power 
of  germination  belonging  to  its  seeds, 
even  after  being  scorched  by  fire. 
Thus  both  of  these  trees  not  only  fur- 
38 


FOREST  TREES 


nish  useful  material,  but  restore  health 
and  calmness  to  the  forest. 

In  connection  with  the  longleaf  pines 
of  the  Southern  States,  the  bull  pine 
of  the  West  deserves  to  be  noticed  on 
account  of  its  rear  botanical  relation- 
ship and  the  somewhat  similar  economic 
position  which  it  occupies.  It  is  the 
most  widely  distributed  of  western 
trees,  being  found  in  almost  every  kind 
of  soil  and  climate  along  the  Pacific 
coast  and  throughout  the  Rockies. 
Over  so  wide  a  range,  growing  under 
very  different  conditions  of  soil,  tem- 
perature, light,  and  moisture,  it  varies 
greatly  in  form  and  appearance.  We 
encounter  it  on  dry,  sterile  slopes  or 
elevated  plateaux  in  the  interior,  and 
walk  for  miles  through  the  monotony 
of  these  dark  bull  pine  forests,  in  which 
39 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

the  trees  are  of  small  stature  and  seem 
to  be  struggling  for  their  life.  Again 
we  meet  it  on  the  humid  western  slopes 
of  the  Sierra  ^Nevada,  associated  with 
the  sugar  pine  and  other  lofty  trees. 
Here  we  scarcely  recognize  it.  It  holds 
its  own  among  the  company  of  giants, 
and  is  full  of  vitality,  freedom,  and 
strength;  with  brighter,  redder  bark 
and  stout,  sinuous  branches;  with 
longer  needles  and  larger  cones.  The 
sunlight  fills  its  ample  crown  spaces, 
and  the  wind  murmurs  in  the  foliage 
overhead;  for  the  pines  are  the  master 
musicians  of  the  woods. 

The  Southern  States  and  the  Gulf 
region  furnish  us  with  a  conifer  of 
striking  originality  and  great  useful- 
ness. This  is  the  bald  cypress,  which 
may  have  caught  the  reader's  eye  in 
40 


The  Bull  Pine  in  its  California  Home 


FOKEST  TREES 


some  northern  park  by  the  elegant 
forms  of  its  spireUke  growth.  It  rises 
high  and  erect,  a  narrow  pyi^amid 
clothed  in  the  lightest  green  foliage. 
The  latter  is  composed  of  delicate  fea- 
thers of  little  elliptical  leaves  that  hang 
drooping  among  the  finely  interwoven 
short  branches.  This  is  in  its  culti- 
vated northern  home,  where  it  seems  to 
thrive  well  on  the  carefully  kept  green- 
sward. But  in  reality  it  is  a  tree  of 
deep  swamps,  seeking  the  dank,  flooded 
shores  of  southern  rivers,  or  impene- 
trable morasses,  where  few  other  trees 
can  live.  Here  we  may  paddle  our 
boat  through  the  strange-looking  cy- 
press knees  that  it  sends  up  above  the 
water  from  the  roots  in  the  muddy  soil 
beneath,  and  may  admire  the  straight, 
firm  trunks  that  are  ridged  and  but- 
41 


FOEEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

tressed  below  to  form  wide,  spreading 
bases.  In  this,  its  native  home,  when 
it  has  grown  to  maturity,  it  looks  far 
different  from  the  trim,  tall  pyramid 
that  we  see  in  the  park.  In  place  of  the 
lofty  spire  it  bears  a  broad,  flat  crown, 
that  is  poised  upon  the  tall,  fibrous, 
reddish-gray  trunk.  Such  crowns, 
if  the  tree  has  had  room  to  spread, 
may  measure  as  much  as  a  hundred 
feet  across ;  but  where  closely  pressed 
at  the  sides  by  other  trees,  they  are 
contracted  to  much  narrower  dimen- 
sions. The  foliage  is  soft  in  texture 
as  ever,  and  interspersed  with  little 
globular  cones.  With  the  coming  of 
winter,  however,  the  sprays  of  foliage 
turn  brown  and  fall  from  the  tree,  the 
bald  cypress  being  one  of  the  very  few 
cone-bearers  that  shed  their  leaves. 
42 


FOEEST  TREES 


In  the  South,  especially  in  Florida 
and  along  the  Gulf,  the  cypress  trees 
are  likely  to  be  overloaded  with  stream- 
ers of  gray,  mosslike  tillandsia.  This 
epiphytic  plant,  commonly  known  as 
"Florida  moss"  or  "hanging  moss," 
sometimes  hides  the  entire  mass  of 
foliage,  and  lends  a  funereal  aspect 
to  whole  groves  and  forests  of  these 
trees,  detracting  much  from  their 
beauty. 

One  of  the  prettiest  coniferous  trees 
in  the  East  is  the  hemlock.  Whatever 
may  be  the  prejudice  against  the  com- 
mercial qualities  of  this  tree, —  for  the 
value  of  its  wood  is  not  now  appre- 
ciated as  it  should  be, —  its  appear- 
ance is  admired  by  all  who  know  it.  I 
call  it  "  pretty  "  because  it  is  fine  and 
neat  when  young  and  grows  to  be 
43 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

comely  and  graceful  in  middle  age, 
rather  than  beautiful  in  the  ordinary 
meaning  of  that  word.  It  is  an  easy, 
airy  tree.  And  yet  the  time  comes 
when  it  loses  its  ease  and  grace,  when 
its  trunk  grows  darker  and  its  boughs 
become  straggly  and  rough,  when  it 
puts  on  the  strength  of  age  without  its 
decrepitude  and  bears  unflinchingly  the 
weight  of  winter  snows.  Is  it  now  less 
interesting  than  in  its  youth?  I  think 
not.  It  makes  the  woods  rough  and 
natural,  and  we  admire  its  simplicity, 
self-sufficiency,  and  endurance. 

When  young  there  is  no  tree  with 
such  elegant  and  yet  loose  and  pretty 
effects  in  the  foliage,  unless  it  should 
be  one  of  its  western  cousins.  The 
spray  hangs  delicately  from  the  sides 
of  the  tree  and  the  top  is  gracefully 


FOREST  TREES 


pendent.  The  little  shoots,  as  they 
peep  out  from  hundreds  of  recesses, 
buoyant  and  lifelike,  and  the  pendent 
top,  are  in  some  way  suggestive  of  a 
playing  fountain,  especially  in  quite 
young  trees.  In  the  forest  the  symme- 
try of  the  hemlock  is  not  always  pre- 
served; yet  it  fits  into  the  scene  grace- 
fully, whether  fringing  the  mountain 
stream  or  grouping  itself  among  the 
other  trees  of  the  forest. 

The  two  western  hemlocks  also  have 
exceedingly  graceful  sprays  and  majes- 
tic forms,  but  they  are  less  familiar 
to  most  of  us  and  are  not  as  widely 
distributed  as  the  smaller  eastern 
species. 

One  of  the  trees  of  widest  geograph- 
ical range  in  America  is  the  red  cedar, 
or  red  juniper,  as  it  should  more  prop- 
45 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

erly  be  called.  This  statement  remains 
true  notwithstanding  the  recent  dis- 
covery that  the  form  of  red  juniper 
common  to  certain  parts  of  the  Rockies 
is  distinct  from  the  eastern  tree. 
Though  of  small  size,  except  in  the 
bottom  lands  of  Ai'kansas  and  Texas, 
it  possesses  some  excellent  qualities 
and  is  useful  in  many  ways.  It  is 
sometimes  used  in  cabinet  work,  and 
is  one  of  the  best  materials  for  fence 
posts.  The  variety  that  grows  along 
the  Florida  coast  furnishes  the  wood 
for  the  indispensable  lead  pencil. 

The  red  juniper  is  at  its  best  along 
the  border  of  the  forest  or  where  it 
strays  a  short  distance  away.  Its  foli- 
age is  dark  and  bushy,  and  infinitely 
tender  and  soft  in  appearance.  In  the 
lower  Appalachian  region  it  forms  a 
46 


FOREST   TREES 


fine  setting  for  the  gorgeous  drifts  of 
dogwood  and  redbud  that  skirt  the  for- 
est edges.  It  forms  changeful  and 
interesting  groups  on  the  rocky  knolls 
and  ledges.  On  our  Jersey  shores 
it  has  a  tasteful  way  of  gathering 
into  little  companies,  just  near  enough 
to  the  forest  to  belong  to  it,  com- 
posing scenes  that  are  pleasant  to  re- 
member. Singly,  on  the  yellow  sands, 
the  young  conical  red  juniper  edges 
off  well  against  the  sky.  In  its  old 
age  the  same  tree  looks  gnarled  and 
picturesque,  but  still  beautiful,  with  its 
masses  of  small  blue-gray  berries.^ 
Many  of  us  remember  it  so  by  the  edge 
of  the  ocean,  and  perhaps  others,  like 
myself,  have  allowed  their  imagination 
to  drift  and  have  fancied  that  it  looked 
solemn  and  thoughtful,  outlined  against 
47 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

the  pale-blue  sky,  listening  to  the  swish 
and  whisper  of  the  sea. 

Several  cone-bearing  trees  of  the 
"Western  States  remain  to  be  consid- 
ered. These  are  the  firs  and  spruces, 
which  belong  to  the  same  class  as  the 
pines;  and  the  big  tree  and  redwood, 
relatives  of  the  bald  cypress. 

The  Douglas  spruce,  or  red  fir,  is  in 
reality  neither  a  true  spruce  nor  a  fir, 
though  it  has  some  of  the  character- 
istics of  each.  It  was  discovered  as 
long  ago  as  1795  by  the  famous  ex- 
plorer, Archibald  Menzies.  This  spe- 
cies and  a  smaller  one  that  grows  on 
the  arid  mountains  of  southern  Cali- 
fornia, with  possibly  a  third  that  is 
found  in  Japan,  constitute  together 
the  whole  genus  Pseudotsuga.  But 
whatever  its  botanical  peculiarities,  the 
48 


FOREST  TREES 


red  fir  is  an  important  and  exceedingly 
useful  tree,  especially  for  the  purposes 
of  practical  and  scientific  forestry.  Like 
the  white  pine  it  was  planted  long  ago 
by  those  pioneers  in  forestry,  the  Ger- 
mans, and  has  proved  itself  among  them 
to  be  one  of  the  few  trees  of  foreign 
extraction  that  can  be  called  successful. 
When  young,  the  red  fir  grows  rap- 
idly and  symmetrically,  and  has  a 
fresh,  vigorous,  healthy  look.  It  then 
already  possesses  the  bluish  depth  to 
its  foliage  that  it  preserves  throughout 
life,  a  color  that  is  comparable  in  its 
purity  only  to  that  of  the  white  pine. 
In  several  of  its  other  features,  how- 
ever, it  changes  with  the  lapse  of 
years.  It  gradually  loses  the  graceful 
lower  boughs  that  feather  to  the 
ground  in  the  young  tree;  its  bark 
49 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

becomes  rough  and  very  thick ;  and  its 
trunk  develops  into  a  tall,  straight 
shaft  that  bears  a  long,  spiry  crown  of 
striking  symmetry,  in  which  tier  after 
tier  of  branches  rises  to  the  narrowing 
summit,  ending  some  two  or  three  hun- 
dred feet  in  air.  This  is  its  aspect  in 
the  favored  regions  of  its  growth,  near 
the  shores  of  Puget  Sound  and  in  the 
moist  mountains  of  Washington  and 
Oregon,  where  it  once  formed  forests 
of  extraordinary  density  and  dark 
grandeur,  portions  of  which  are  still 
preserved  over  this  extensive  territory. 
Another  important  conifer  is  the 
lowland  fir  of  the  Pacific  coast.  All 
the  silver  firs,  to  which  class  this  tree 
belongs,  have  distinct  features  in  their 
foliage  and  a  characteristic  habit  of 
growth,  a  description  of  which  may 
50 


A  Sih n-  Fir  at  Middle  Age 


FOREST   TREES 


enable  the  reader  to  picture  to  himself 
not  only  the  lowland  fir  itself,  but  to 
form  some  conception  of  the  esthetic 
value  of  the  entire  genus. 

The  leaves  are  narrow,  flat,  and 
linear,  usually  about  as  long  as  a  pin 
or  a  needle,  glossy  green  on  the  upper 
side,  and  streaked  with  a  longitudinal 
whitish  line  underneath.  They  are 
crowded  horizontally  at  the  right  and 
left  sides  of  the  shoot  or  twig,  like  the 
hairs  on  the  quill  of  a  feather.  The 
twigs  themselves,  and,  in  turn,  the 
boughs  and  branches,  have  a  similar 
tendency  to  assume  a  horizontal  posi- 
tion; and  thus  the  tree  is  built  up  in 
neat  symmetrical  stages,  dwindling  in 
size  to  the  summit,  and  presenting  the 
typical  conical  form  of  the  cone-bearers. 

Let  it  not  be  presumed,  however, 
51 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

that  there  is  anything-  awkward  or 
stiff  in  the  appearance  of  the  firs. 
Young  firs  are  among  the  neatest 
and  most  elegant  objects  in  a  park. 
The  smooth  gray  bark,  the  hfelike  air 
in  the  distribution  of  the  boughs  and 
smaller  branches,  the  glossy  green  as 
seen  from  the  side  or  above,  varied  to 
a  blue  or  gray  when  we  stand  beneath, 
redeem  them  from  every  charge  of 
conventionality.* 

The  lowland  fir  as  a  young  tree, 
and  where  it  is  afforded  sufficient 
room,  has  more  of  the  drooping,  plume- 
like, graceful  air  than  is  usual  with 
the  members  of  this  genus.  The 
leaves  are  somewhat  curled  and  scat- 
tered about  the  stem.  Like  most  trees 
it  becomes  more  expressive  as  it  grows 
older  and  little  by  little  rejects  the 
52 


FOKEST  TREES 


features  and  traces  of  its  earlier  years. 
Its  arms  gradually  bend  inward,  and 
the  whole  tree  becomes  more  cylin- 
drical, till  in  its  maturity  it  speaks 
freely  through  its  broken  and  twisted 
boughs  of  storms  and  battles  and  in- 
sect ravages  of  long  ago;  yet  it  strives 
to  cover  its  scars  with  luxuriant  masses 
of  verdure  and  numberless  purplish 
cones — a  truly  magnificent  spectacle 
of  a  hoary  veteran  of  crisp  and  sturdy 
aspect. 

The  Engelmann  spruce,  though  a 
smaller  tree  than  either  the  red  fir  or 
the  lowland  fir,  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  the  spruces.  Its  home  is 
in  the  elevated  regions  of  Colorado, 
whence  it  spreads  westward  and  north- 
ward throughout  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Its  well  rounded  bole  is  scaly  with  small 
53 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

cinnamon-red  plates,  and  its  foliage  is 
composed  of  sharp,  short,  needlelike 
leaves,  that  bristle  around  the  stem 
and  are  bluish-green  in  color.  Its 
small  brown  cones  droop  from  the  ex- 
tremities of  the  boughs  and  mass 
themselves  in  the  top  of  the  tree. 
Like  most  of  the  spruces,  this  one 
climbs  to  high  elevations.  Many  a 
wild  mountain  slope  in  the  "West  is 
covered  by  the  dense  ranks  of  these 
straight,  slender  trees,  with  tapering 
spires  that  are  green  in  summer  and 
frosted  with  snow  and  rime  in  winter. 

The  glory  of  our  western  forests, 
however,  are  the  sequoias,  those  gigan- 
tic trees  of  California  that  have  become 
widely  famous.  The  two  sequoias,  the 
big  tree  of  the  Sierra  Kevada  and 
the  redwood  of  the  Pacific  coast,  con- 
54 


FOREST  TEEES 


stitute  the  last  remnants  of  a  mighty 
race  that  covered  vast  areas  in  ^orth 
America  and  Europe  in  past  geologi- 
cal ages.  It  is  believed  that  their 
days  are  almost  over,  for  the  big  tree 
groves  are  few  in  nmnber  and  small  in 
extent,  and  even  these  are  falling  rap- 
idly under  the  ax  and  saw.  Nor  does 
this  species  appear  to  reproduce  itself 
easily;  for,  although  numberless  seeds 
fall  from  the  old  trees,  they  rarely 
sprout,  and  therefore  are  slow  to  re- 
place what  has  been  taken  away.  The 
redwoods,  too,  are  threatened  with  ex- 
tinction, though  they  still  cover  consid- 
erable tracts  along  the  northern  half  of 
the  California  coast.  They  are  coveted 
even  more  than  the  big  trees  and  are 
disappearing  with  a  rapidity  that  only 
modern  industry  has  made  possible. 
55 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

Fortunately  the  redwood  possesses 
two  gifts  of  inestimable  value  that  will 
prolong,  but  cannot  perpetuate,  its  exis- 
tence. The  unusual  amount  of  mois- 
ture in  its  wood  and  the  absence  of 
pitch  in  the  sap  lessen  the  danger  from 
fire;  while  the  same  remarkable  trait 
that  we  noticed  in  the  pitch  pine,  other- 
wise very  rare  in  coniferous  trees,  of 
sprouting  from  dormant  buds  at  the 
edge  of  the  stump  will  replace,  for  a 
time  at  least,  many  of  the  giants  that 
are  taken  away. 

The  general  appearance  or  type  of 
the  sequoias  resembles  that  of  the 
cypresses  and  cedars.  The  bald  cy- 
press is  their  nearest  relative.  The 
big  tree  often  has  the  same  spreading 
base,  and  both  have  the  fluted,  shreddy 
bark,  traits  that  may  also  be  noticed  in 
56 


FOREST  TREES 


the  common  white  cedar  and  in  arbor- 
vitas.  The  diameter  of  the  trunk  of 
the  big  tree  is  strikingly  large  even  for 
its  wonderful  height.  Both  trees  lift 
their  crowns  rather  high,  and  have 
comparatively  short  boughs,  with  dense, 
bushy,  somewhat  straggly-looking  fo- 
liage. In  its  youthful  stage  the  foliage 
of  the  redwood,  like  its  congener's,  has 
a  bluish  tinge,  which  with  advancing 
years  turns  to  a  dark  and  somber  green 
that  contrasts  strangely  with  the  red 
color  of  the  thick,  spongy  bark.  But 
the  individuality  of  both  trees,  espe- 
cially that  of  the  big  tree,  is  so  impres- 
sive and  magnificent  that  all  these  minor 
essences  become  involved  in  the  maj- 
esty of  the  whole.  The  mighty  bole 
rises  in  splendid  proportions  to  where 
the  distant  fronds  hang  loosely  down, 
57 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

disappearing  within  their  somber  shad- 
ows, but  still  carrying  upward  the 
masses  of  foliage,  as  if  striving  to  reach 
the  very  clouds.  As  we  view  their 
stately  and  incomparable  forms,  so  mas- 
terly wrought,  so  unapproachable  in 
their  magnificence,  we  need  hardly  be 
told  that  these  trees  are  strangers  from 
a  distant  and  forgotten  age. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  con- 
cerning the  sizes  and  ages  of  these  two 
largest  trees  of  America — indeed,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Australian  euca- 
lipti,  we  might  say  of  the  world.  It  is 
said  that  some  of  the  latter  surpass  the 
redwood  in  height,  though  a  redwood 
tree  was  discovered  within  recent 
years  on  the  Eel  River,  California, 
whose  stupendous  height  reached 
nearly  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
58 


FOREST  TREES 


thus  surpassing  in  that  dimension,  at 
least,  any  previously  recorded  measure- 
ments of  the  big  tree.  The  ages  of  the 
sequoias  have  been  more  difficult  to 
determine,  but  it  appears  that  in  the 
beginning  they  vrere  exaggerated.  The 
mature  redwood,  doubtless,  is  apt  to  be 
several  centuries  younger  than  the  big 
tree;  but  so  excellent  an  authority  as 
Mr.  John  Muir  has  said  of  the  latter 
that  "  these  giants  under  the  most  fa- 
vorable conditions  probably  live  five 
thousand  years  or  more,  though  few  of 
even  the  larger  trees  are  more  than 
half  as  old." 

The  redwoods  are  great  lovers  of 
moisture.  In  the  valleys  and  canyons 
near  the  ocean  they  bathe  in  the  ascend- 
ing fog  and  stand  dripping  with  con- 
densed vapor.  AYe  shall  come  upon 
59 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

them  in  dense  groves,  where  the  day  is 
a  continuous  twilight  and  the  trees 
surpass  in  their  combined  massiveness 
even  the  red  firs  of  Oregon.  At  other 
times  we  shall  find  them  mingling  in 
more  open  forest  with  lowland  firs  and 
hemlocks,  or,  in  their  northern  range, 
with  the  splendid  Port  Orford  cedar. 
The  light  enters  these  more  open  for- 
ests and  calls  forth  much  beautiful 
young  growth  and  shrubbery:  the 
rhododendrons  of  California,  with  large 
and  showy  purplish  blossoms  and  ever- 
green leaves;  western  dogwoods,  that 
might  at  first  glance  be  mistaken  for 
the  eastern  species;  barberries  and 
familiar  hazels;  and  ferns  and  violets. 
The  reader  must  not  infer,  of  course, 
that  such  scenes  are  necessarily  of 
common  occurrence  in  the  forest;  but 
60 


FOEEST  TEEES 


they  are  more  agreeable  to  contemplate 
than  those  that  have  been  despoiled  of 
their  attractions.  It  should  be  re- 
membered that  if  we  traveled  through 
these  forests  we  should  often  find  fresh 
signs  of  human  interference:  sections 
of  trees  lying  prone  on  the  ground, 
abandoned  as  useless  by  the  lumber- 
man; stripped  crowns  that  stood  in  the 
way  of  falling  trunks,  and  debris  of 
bark  and  slashings.  We  should  also 
notice  the  track  of  the  forest  fire 
among  the  stumps  and  charred  tree- 
trunks,  and  here  and  there  the  dying 
tops  of  standing  trees  that  were  un- 
able to  withstand  the  flames.  Fi- 
nally, in  dry  and  semi-arid  regions, 
particularly  in  sections  of  the  South- 
west, we  should  notice  still  another 
danger  that  threatens  our  forests: 
61 


FOREST  TEEES  AND  FOEEST  SCENEEY 

the  excessive  or  ill-timed  grazing  of 
sheep,  which  trample  to  death  the 
young  tree  seedlings  as  they  pass  over 
the  ground  in  great  herds  and  devour 
the  last  vestiges  of  vegetation,  thus 
leaving  a  bare  and  dry  forest  floor, 
upon  which  the  old  trees  subsist 
with  difficulty  through  the  prolonged 
di'oughts  of  suiiuner. 


62 


Courtesy  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry 

Where  the  Sheep  Have  Been 


II 

FOEEST    ADORNMENT 

THOUGH  there  can  be  no  forest 
without  trees,  it  may  be  asserted 
with  equal  truth  that  trees  alone  would 
make  but  an  incomplete  forest.^  Under 
the  old  trees  we  find  the  young  sap- 
lings that  are  in  future  years  to  replace 
them  and  in  their  turn  are  to  form  a 
new  canopy  of  shade.  In  their  com- 
pany is  a  vast  variety  of  shrubs,  ferns, 
and  delicate  grasses  and  flowers  that 
decorate  the  forest  floor.  Yines  and 
creepers  gather  about  the  old  trees 
and  clamber  up  their  furrowed  trunks. 
In  autumn  the  ground  is  strewed  with 
63 


FOEEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

fallen  leaves,  motionless  or  hurrying 
along  before  the  wind.  These  gather 
into  deep  beds,  soft  to  the  tread,  and 
at  last  molder  away  in  the  moist,  rich 
earth.  In  the  needle-bearing  forests 
of  the  mountains  brilliant  green  mosses 
replace  the  shrubs  and  flowers  and  deck 
the  bare  brown  earth. 

There  are  lifeless  sources  of  beauty  in 
the  woods,  too,  that  are  not  easy  to 
pass  by  unnoticed:  rocks  with  interest- 
ing forms  and  surfaces ;  forms  that  are 
lifeless,  yet  take  on  distinct  expression 
by  their  different  modes  of  cleavage, 
and  surfaces  that  drape  themselves  in 
the  choicest  paraphernalia  of  drooping 
moss  and  rare  lichen;  prattling  moun- 
tain streams;  cascades;  and  glassy 
pools.  These  are  "  inanimate  "  things 
with  a  kind  of  life  in  them,  after  all. 
64 


FOEEST  ADORNMENT 


Lastly,  there  are  the  true  owners  of 
the  forest:  the  bird  that  hovers  round 
its  borders;  the  free,  chattering  squir- 
rel ;  the  casual  butterfly  that  leads  us  to 
the  flowers ;  and  the  large  game  that  in- 
habits the  hidden  recesses  and  adds  an 
element  of  wildness  and  strange  attrac- 
tion to  these  quiet  haunts. 

All  this  wealth  of  detail  gives  life  to 
the  forest.  The  shrubs,  above  the  rest, 
should  here  interest  us  somewhat  more 
minutely.  They  are  often  the  most  con- 
spicuous objects  in  the  embellishment  of 
the  forest;  and  since  our  investigation 
was  to  be  guided  to  some  extent  by  con- 
siderations of  usefulness,  it  ought  to  be 
added  that  shrubs  not  infrequently  exer- 
cise a  beneficial  influence  on  the  vigor 
and  well-being  of  the  trees  themselves. 
Trees,    shi'ubs,    and    certain    of    the 


65 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

smaller  plants  —  so  long  as  their  root 
systems  are  not  too  dense  and  intricate 
—  are  of  value  on  account  of  their  ame- 
liorative effects  on  temperature  and 
moisture.  This  is  more  important  in 
this  country,  so  extreme  in  its  climatic 
variations,  than  in  northern  Europe. 
In  the  dry  and  parching  days  of  sum- 
mer the  shrubbery  of  the  woods,  by 
its  shade,  helps  to  keep  the  earth  cool 
and  moist.  This  mantle  of  the  earth, 
moreover,  conducts  the  rain  more  grad- 
ually to  the  soil,  exercising  an  efficient 
economy.  In  the  fall  and  winter  the 
shrubs,  which  are  densest  near  the  for- 
est border,  help  to  break  the  force  of 
the  sweeping  winds  which  might  other- 
wise carry  away  the  fallen  leaves,  so 
useful  in  their  turn  because  they  are 
conservators  and  regulators  of  mois- 
66 


Courfpfii/  of  the  Bnrean  of  Forestry 

Shrubbery  and  River  Birches.     New  Jersey 


FOKEST  ADOKNMENT 


ture  and  contain  valuable  chemical  con- 
stituents which  they  return  to  the  soil. 
The  pine  barrens  of  ^N^ew  Jersey 
illustrate  these  principles.  In  close 
proximity  to  the  sea  a  welcome  mois- 
ture enters  the  forest  with  the  ocean 
breezes.  Penetrating  farther  inland,  it 
is  not  so  entirely  dissipated  as  to  pre- 
clude a  varied  undergrowth  of  shrub- 
bery, which  in  turn  renders  a  welcome 
aid  to  the  forest  by  the  protection  it  af- 
fords to  the  porous,  sandy  soil,  which 
would  soon  dry  out  under  the  scant 
shelter  of  the  pervious  pines.  Underv 
neath  these  the  kalmia  or  calico  bush^ 
with  its  large  and  showy  bunches  of 
flowers,  is  abundant.  In  late  summer 
the  sweet  pepperbush  is  there,  laden 
with  its  fragrant  racemes ;  in  winter,  the 
cheerful  evergreen  holly  of  glossy  green 
67 


FOEEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

leaf  and  bright  berry.  In  the  dry  and 
sunny  places  we  find  the  wild  rose,  the 
trailing  blackberry,  with  its  rich  color 
traceries  on  the  autumn  leaves,  and  the 
no  less  brilliant  leaves  of  the  wild  straw- 
berries underfoot.  We  come  upon  the 
creeping  wintergreen  and  the  local 
" flowering  moss."  The  fragrant  "trail- 
ing arbutus,"  here  as  elsewhere,  is 
an  earnest  of  the  generous  returning 
spring.  Along  the  creeks  and  brooks 
are  masses  of  honeysuckles,  alder 
bushes,  and  sweet  magnolias. 

The  coniferous  forests  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region  are  either  too  dry  or 
too  elevated  to  promote  a  luxuriant 
undergrowth;  but  we  find  it  in  the 
humid  coast  region  of  Oregon  and 
Washington,  within  the  forests  of  fir, 
pine,  and  spruce.  In  the  deciduous 
68 


Fern  Patch  in  a  Grove  of  White  Bii 


FOKEST  ADORNMENT 


forests,  however,  the  shrubbery  attains 
its  best  development,  for  its  presence 
depends  largely  upon  moisture,  climate, 
and  soil,  and  these  conditions  are  usu- 
ally most  favorable  in  our  broadleaf 
districts.  In  the  latter,  moreover,  the 
shrubbery  exercises  its  influence  most 
efliciently,  for  many  of  the  pines  will 
bear  a  considerable  amount  of  heat  and 
drought,  and  several  other  conifers 
show  their  independence  and  a  differ- 
ent kind  of  hardihood  at  high  and 
humid  elevations.  The  varied  and 
beautiful  forms  of  undergrowth  in  our 
broadleaf  forests — the  shrubs,  the 
vines  and  graceful  large  ferns,  and  the 
smaller  plants  that  live  along  the  forest 
borders  and  penetrate  within — may  be 
regarded  as  one  of  the  distinctive  fea- 
tures of  American  forest  scenery. 
69 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

In  such  forests,  and  along  their  bor- 
ders, the  birds  like  to  make  their  home. 
Among  the  bushy  thickets  they  find  a 
secure  shelter,  and  some  of  them  seek 
their  food  among  the  fruits  and  berries 
that  grow  there.  They  all  possess  their 
Individual  charms,  and  infuse  such 
varied  elements  of  life  and  cheer  into 
the  woods  that  even  the  most  common- 
place scenes  are  transmuted  by  their 
presence,  while  those  that  were  already 
beautiful  receive  an  added  attraction. 
In  winter  there  is  nothing  more  har- 
monious than  a  flock  of  snowbirds  fly- 
ing over  frosted  evergreens  toward 
some  soft  gray  mist  or  cloud.  For 
grace  and  ease  of  movement  I  have 
never  seen  anything  more  airy  than  the 
Canada  jay  alighting  on  some  near 
bough,  softly  as  a  snowflake,  to  watch 
70 


FOREST   ADORNMENT 


and  wait  for  the  scraps  of  the  fores- 
ter's meal.  Another  interesting  bird 
to  watch  in  his  movements  is  the  red- 
winged  blackbird.  Out  along  the 
edges  of  the  forest  and  in  the  swamps 
and  marshes  lying  between  bits  of 
woodland,  he  may  be  seen  from  earliest 
spring  to  the  last  days  of  fall.''  We 
cannot  help  watching  him  passing 
restlessly  to  and  fro  by  himself,  or  cir- 
cling happily  about  in  the  flock,  re- 
turning at  last  to  his  clumps  of  alders 
and  willows,  or  disappearing  among  the 
hazy  reeds  and  grasses.  But  if,  in- 
stead of  grace  and  movement,  we  are 
more  interested  in  sound,  we  shall  find 
no  songbird  with  sweeter  notes  than 
the  thrush.  Whatever  added  name  he 
may  bear,  we  are  sure  of  a  fine  quality 
of  music ;  music  with  modulating  notes^ 
71 


FOREST  TREES  ANB  FOREST  SCENERY 

plaintive  and  clear,  that  drive  away  all 
harshness  of  thought. 

Let  us  again  consider  the  under- 
growth in  the  forest.  Where  shrubs 
and  tender  growths  abound  the  wintry 
season  cannot  be  desolate  or  dreary. 
When  the  display  of  summer  is  over 
they  attract  the  eye  by  their  bright 
fruits  and  their  habits  of  growth.  Their 
branchlets  are  often  strikingly  pretty  in 
color  and  well  set  off  against  the  snow. 
Their  intricate  traceries  of  twig  and 
stem  are  an  interesting  study.  The 
copses  of  brown  hazels  that  spread 
along  the  mountain  side  and  the  dusky 
alders  or  yellow-tinted  willows  are  in 
perfect  harmony  with  this  season  of 
the  year. 

It  is  by  crowding  into  masses  that 
our  shrubs  of  brighter  blossom  produce 
72 


FOREST  ADORNMENT 


some  of  the  most  superb  effects  of 
spring.  A  multitude  of  rhododen- 
drons or  great  laurels  covers  some 
mountain  side,  carr^dng  its  drifts  of  pale 
rose  far  back  into  the  woods.  A  mass 
of  redbuds  and  flowering  dogwoods, 
the  former  again  rose-colored,  the  latter 
a  creamy  white,  pours  out  from  the 
forest's  edge  amor  g  ledges  of  rock  and 
low  hills.  The  wild  plums  and  thorns, 
with  their  delicate  flowers,  are  beauti- 
ful in  the  same  manner,  and  in  addition 
have  a  pretty  habit  of  straying  out  and 
away  from  the  woods,  much  hke  the 
red  juniper. 

Our  shrubs  are  no  less  beautiful  in 
their  separate  parts  than  they  are  mag- 
nificent in  their  united  profusion.  The 
common  sweet  magnolia  is  especially 
well  favored.  Its  elegantly  elliptical 
73 


FOEEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

leaf,  with  smooth  surfaces,  glossy  and 
dark  green  above,  silken  and  silvery 
below,  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  to 
be  found.  Its  flower  cannot  help  being 
beautiful,  for  beauty  is  the  heritage  of 
all  the  magnolias.  Often,  however, 
half  the  pure  ivory  cups  lie  hidden  in 
the  leaves,  to  surprise  us  on  a  closer 
approach  with  their  beauty  and  sweet 
fragrance.  Altogether  this  favored 
shrub  is  one  of  the  most  exquisite  ob- 
jects of  decoration,  whether  in  the 
swamp,  along  brooksides,  or  through 
the  damp  places  of  the  forest. 

The  hav^horns,  which,  like  the 
sweet  magnolia,  occur  both  as  trees 
and  as  shrubs,  combine  varied  forms 
of  attractiveness,  such  as  compound 
flowers  of  white  or  pinkish  hue;  sharply 
edged,  elegantly  pointed  leaves;  bright 
74 


FOEEST  ADOENMENT 


berries ;  and  closely  interwoven  branch- 
lets  stuck  about  with  thorns.  The  red- 
bud,  which  I  have  already  mentioned, 
holds  its  little  bunches  of  flowers  so 
lightly  that  they  look  as  if  they  had 
been  carried  there  by  the  wind  and  had 
caught  along  the  twigs  and  branches. 
Very  different  from  these,  yet  no  less 
interesting  in  its  way,  is  the  staghorn 
sumach,  which  is  of  erratic  growth 
and  bears  stately  pyramids  of  velvety 
flowers  of  a  dark  crimson-maroon. 
There  is  a  fine  contrast,  too,  where  the 
serviceberry,  with  early  delicate  white 
blossoms,  blooms  among  the  evergreens 
and  the  opening  leaves  of  spring. 

Another  word  about  the  West.    The 
undergrowth  of  the  northerly  portion 
of  the  Pacific    coast    region    has   al- 
ready been  referred  to;  but  there  ex- 
75 


FOKEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCEKERY 

tends  throughout  the  Southwest,  pene- 
trating also  northward  and  eastward, 
another  kind  of  forest  growth  that  is 
so  distinct  in  character  from  all  others 
that  it  should  be  specially  described. 
It  is,  in  fact,  quite  opposite  in  its  na- 
ture to  the  shrubbery  of  the  more  humid 
forest  regions  in  that  it  shows  a  tend- 
ency to  seek  the  arid,  open,  sunny 
slopes,  where  it  forms  a  scrubby,  though 
interesting,  and  varied  cover  to  the 
rough  granite  boulders  and  loose, 
gravelly  soils.  This  growth  is  every- 
where conveniently  known  as  "chap- 
arral," whether  it  be  the  low,  even- 
colored  brush  on  the  higher  mountains 
or  the  dense,  scraggy,  promiscuous, 
and  impenetrable  thicket  of  the  foot- 
hills and  lower  and  gentler  slopes. 
The  impression  which  the  chaparral 
76 


FOREST  ADORNMENT 


makes  depends  largely  upon  the  dis- 
tance at  which  it  is  viewed.  If  we 
stand  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  patch  of 
it  we  see  of  how  many  elements  it  is 
composed;  how  the  shi'ubs  of  different 
size,  shape,  and  character  crowd  each 
other  into  a  tangle  of  branches,  some 
not  reaching  above  the  waist,  others 
closing  in  overhead.  The  ceano- 
thus,  with  its  dull,  dark-green  foliage 
and  bunches  of  small  white  flowers, 
which  appear  in  June,  stands  beside 
the  stout- stemmed,  knotty,  twisted 
manzanita,  with  its  strikingly  reddish- 
brown  bark  and  sticky,  orbicular,  olive- 
colored  leaves.  Among  smaller  shrubs 
we  find  the  aromatic  sage  brush,  of  a 
light-gray,  soft  appearance,  and  the 
richer,  darker,  small-leaved  grease- 
wood,  or  chemisal,  as  it  is  more  com- 
77 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

monly  called  farther  north,  with  its 
small,  white-petaled  flowers  enclosing 
a  greenish-yellow  center.  Yery  plen- 
tifully scattered  among  all  these  we 
usually  find  the  scrubby  forms  of  the 
canyon  live  oak  and  the  California 
black  oak.  Here  and  there  we  may 
see  a  large  golden-flowered  mallow,  or 
the  queenly  yucca  raising  its  fine  pyra- 
mid of  cream-colored  flowers  out  of 
the  dense  mass. 

The  far  view  is  quite  different. 
Distance  smoothes  the  surface  and 
somewhat  obliterates  the  colors,  though 
we  may  still  distinguish  a  variegated 
appearance.  The  eye  takes  in  the 
larger  outlines  and  the  scattered  pines 
that  sometimes  occur  within  the  chap- 
arral. I^or  is  the  latter,  as  we  now  per- 
ceive, always  a  dense  growth,  but  may 
78 


A  Yucca  in  the  Chaparral 


FOKEST  ADORNMENT 


be  separated  here  and  there.  Indeed, 
it  is  often  most  interesting  when  inter- 
rnpted  by  large  granite  boulders  and 
jumbles  of  rocks,  with  the  clean  gray 
shade  of  which  it  forms  a  fine  contrast 
on  a  clear  morning. 

If  we  look  still  farther  up  toward 
some  higher  slopes,  miles  away,  we 
shall  see  only  a  uniform  and  contin- 
uous stretch  of  low  brush  that  appears 
at  that  great  distance  hardly  otherwise 
than  a  green  pasture  clothing  the  bar- 
ren mountain.  As  we  walk  toward  it 
the  bluish-green  changes  to  a  bronze- 
green,  and  then  suddenly  we  recognize 
the  broad  sweep  of  chemisal,  with  a 
few  scattered  scrubby  oaks  and  moun- 
tain mahogany  in  between. 

In  the  account  of  forest  embellish- 
ment should  be  included  those  hum- 
79 


FOEEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

blest  plants,  the  liverworts  and  mosses 
and  the  lichens  that  so  beautifully 
stain  the  rocks  and  color  the  stems  of 
trees.  A  close  study  of  all  their  deli- 
cate and  tender  characters,  both  of 
form  and  color,  is  always  a  revelation. 
Among  these  lowlier  plants  it  is  no 
uncommon  sight  in  the  depth  of  win- 
ter to  see  a  field  of  fern  sending  a 
thousand  elegant  sprays  through  the 
light  snow-covering;  or  half  a  dozen 
kinds  of  mosses,  all  of  different  green, 
but  every  one  pure  and  brilliant, 
gleaming  in  the  shadow  of  some  drip- 
ping rock.  Between  the  rock  and 
its  ice  cap,  covered  by  the  latter  but 
not  concealed  from  view,  there  is  a 
fine  collection  of  the  most  delicate 
little  liverworts  and  grasses,  herbs  with 
tender  leaves,  and  even  flowers,  it  may 
80 


FOREST  ADORNMENT 


be,  on  some  earthy  speck  where  the  sun 
has  melted  the  ice  —  all  as  if  held  in 
cold  crystal. 

A  word  also  remains  to  be  said 
about  the  vines  and  creepers.  As  far 
north  as  Pennsylvania,  and  even  to  the 
States  bordering  the  Great  Lakes, 
these  clambering  plants  are  a  conspic- 
uous element  in  the  forest.  Virginia 
creeper,  clematis,  the  haiiy-looking 
poison  oak,  and  the  wild  grape,  are 
among  those  that  are  most  familiar. 
In  the  woods  of  the  lower  Mississippi 
Valley  the  wild  grapevines  often  make 
a  strange  tangle  among  the  old  and 
twisted  trees  and  hang  in  long  fes- 
toons from  the  boughs.  They  are  not 
uncommon  in  some  of  the  northerly 
States,  though  less  rank  and  exuberant 
in  growth. 

81 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

The  common  ivy  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  all  creepers.  It  makes  a 
fine  setting  for  the  little  wood  flowers 
that  peep  from  its  leaves.  I  like  it 
best,  however,  where  it  clings  to  some 
old  oak  or  other  tree  and  brings  out  the 
contrast  between  its  own  passiveness 
and  weakness  and  the  strength  of  the 
colmnn  that  gives  it  support. 


82 


Ill 

DISTEIBUTION   OF  AMEEICAN 
FORESTS 

THE  geographical  distribution  of 
trees  has  been  referred  to  occa- 
sionally in  the  preceding  chapters. 
This  distribution,  gradually  accom- 
plished during  the  progress  of  ages, 
has  not  been  accidental;  on  the  con- 
trary, it  has  been  due  to  natural  causes, 
and  arises  out  of  the  special  needs  and 
adaptations  of  each  species.  The  geol- 
ogy of  a  region,  which  determines  in 
many  respects  the  character  of  the  phy- 
sical forces  of  both  the  earth  and  the  air, 
is  no  small  factor  in  the  development 
83 


FOEEST  TEEES  AND  FOEEST  SCENEEY 

of  the  forest.  The  character  of  the 
climate,  the  nature  of  the  soil,  the  de- 
gree of  moisture  in  the  soil  and  in  the 
atmosphere,  the  amount  and  intensity 
of  the  sunlight  —  in  short,  the  various 
elements  and  natural  forces  that  con- 
stitute the  enviroimient  of  a  tree  —  are 
the  all-important  conditions  of  its  life. 
On  these  it  depends,  and  according  to 
its  own  peculiar  nature  and  its  special 
needs,  selects  its  natural  home. 

Yet  the  manner  in  which  this  selec- 
tion is  accomplished,  though  simple  in 
theory,  is  complicated  by  many  circum- 
stances. Frost,  fire,  insects,  and  floods, 
by  destroying  the  trees  or  their  seeds, 
may  retard  the  progress  of  the  species. 
The  wind  may  be  unfavorable.  The 
seeds  hang  upon  the  trees  ready  and 
ripe  for  germination,  but  a  breeze  comes 
84 


DISTEIBUTION  OF  AMEEICAN  FORESTS 

along-  and  carries  them  to  a  place  where 
the  conditions  are  ill  adapted  to  their 
peculiar  nature.  The  following  year 
the  wind  is  propitious  and  the  little 
trees  soon  start  into  life.  But  presently 
the  seeds  of  another  tree,  whose  growth 
is  by  nature  faster,  are  conveyed  to  the 
same  spot,  and  the  intruders  outstrip 
the  others  in  rapidity  of  growth  and 
spread  a  canopy  of  foliage  that  screens 
the  smaller  trees  from  the  life-giving 
sun  and  dooms  them  to  destruction. 
Thus  only  a  few  of  the  numberless 
seeds  that  are  produced  each  year  live, 
and  fewer  still  are  able  to  maintain  or 
extend  the  ])oundaries  of  the  parent 
tree.  Sometimes,  too,  the  frugality  or 
hardiness  of  a  species  ma}^  be  the  rea- 
son for  its  exclusive  occupation  of  a 
certain  locality,  since  other  trees  may 
85 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

find  it  impossible  to  live  at  high  alti- 
tudes and  on  rocky  ridges  or  to  subsist 
upon  rough,  poor  soil.  Consequently 
we  shall  find  some  Muds  of  trees  ex- 
clusive, gregarious  only  among  them- 
selves, while  others  mingle  freely  in 
the  general  concourse. 

Through  the  persistency,  therefore, 
of  the  vital  forces  of  nature,  through 
a  suitable  climate  or  situation,  through 
the  power  of  adaptation  and  the  deli- 
cate adjustment  of  many  details,  the 
vast  armies  of  trees,  like  migratory 
races,  have  at  last  accomplished  their 
purpose  and  found  their  several  homes ; 
and  to  us  the  varied  aspect  of  the  for- 
ests, as  we  traverse  the  extended  terri- 
tory of  our  country,  is  in  a  manner 
explained.  There  are  stretches  of  land 
over  which  the  tree  growth  is  dense 
86 


DISTEIBUTION  OF  AMERICAN  FOEESTS 

and  uniform ;  where  the  forest  is  given 
over,  it  may  be,  almost  entirely  to  a 
single  kind  of  tree.  In  other  places 
the  trees  may  join  in  varied  luxuriance, 
young  and  old,  familiar  and  strange,  on 
some  fertile,  protected  plain  or  well 
watered  mountain  side.  In  still  other 
places  they  may  be  seen  struggling  up 
the  steep  slopes  and  maintaining  a 
precarious  existence  on  bleak,  rocky 
ridges. 

"While  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
United  States  is,  generally  speaking, 
the  home  of  the  broadleaf  species,  and 
the  northern  and  western  portions  are 
similarly  occupied  by  the  coniferous 
forests,  these  areas  may  readily  be  sub- 
divided into  specified  regions  of  distinct 
forest  growth.  The  latter,  however, 
cannot  be  accurately  delimited,  since 
8T 


FOREST  TEEES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

the  regions  naturally  penetrate  into  one 
another  and  overlap,  on  account  of  the 
manner  in  which  forests  have  extended 
their  bounds. 

In  the  basin  of  the  Great  Lakes, 
Vi^here  the  glaciers  of  a  recent  geologi- 
cal age  have  prepared  a  light,  loose, 
gravelly  or  sandy  soil,  the  white  pine 
belt  extends  through  the  States  of  Min- 
nesota, Wisconsin,  and  Michigan,  and 
penetrates  into  portions  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, New  York,  and  Kew  England. 
Once  covered  with  dense  tall  forests 
of  white  pine,  interspersed  in  places 
with  other  northern  conifers,  or  broken 
by  smaller  areas  of  broadleaf  forests, 
the  white  pine  belt  has  now  yielded 
to  us  its  richest  treasures.  The  exact- 
ing demands  of  our  modern  artificial 
civilization  have  drawn  ceaselessly  upon 
88 


DISTKIBUTION  OF  AMERICAN  FOEESTS 

these  resources,  and  the  assiduous  ax 
and  the  fire  that  follows  in  its  train 
have  invaded  even  the  most  secluded 
regions.  The  resulting  barren  spaces, 
where  they  have  not  become  cultivated 
land,  have  either  reverted  to  the  young 
white  pine  itself  or  have  been  trans- 
formed into  oak  barrens  and  open 
forests  of  broadleaf  trees.  Thus  the 
aspect  of  the  region  has  been  altered, 
though  many  a  limited  spot  may  be 
found  in  which  the  tall  majesty  of  the 
primeval  forest  still  finds  its  full  ex- 
pression. 

Extending  from  southern  'New  Eng- 
land along  the  entire  range  of  the 
Appalachians,  sloping  toward  the  At- 
lantic, and  spreading  far  westward  to 
the  Mississippi  and  beyond,  the  region 
of  the  eastern  broadleaf  forests  covers 
89 


FOKEST  TKEES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

a  vast  territory.  N^ot  that  the  conifers 
are  here  entirely  absent,  for  several  of 
these,  including  the  white  pine  itself, 
follow  the  mountain  ranges  and  scat- 
ter throughout  the  hills  and  plains; 
but  their  number  dwindles  in  the  pro- 
portion of  the  whole. 

Beyond  this  region  to  the  southward, 
in  the  States  that  border  the  Gulf 
east  of  the  Mississippi,  in  Georgia, 
and  stretching  along  the  coast  north- 
ward, a  region  of  pines  is  once  more 
encountered.  This  section  of  our 
forests,  though  it  has  already  yielded 
generous  supplies,  is  among  the  richest 
in  the  country.  From  the  pineries  of 
the  South  is  obtained  much  of  our  con- 
struction timber;  and  thence,  too,  we 
derive  our  pitch,  tar,  and  turpentine 
from  the  sap  of  the  trees. 
90 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  AMERICAN  FORESTS 

Finally,  within  the  eastern  forests  a 
restricted  region  at  the  southern  end  of 
Florida,  including  the  Keys,  may  prop- 
erly be  separated  from  the  rest.  For 
here  is  found  a  distinctively  tropical 
vegetation,  differing  entirely  in  char- 
acter from  the  forest  flora  to  the  north. 
Many  trees  indigenous  to  the  West 
India  Islands  have  established  them- 
selves upon  this  small  area,  on  which 
the  number  of  species  exceeds  that  of 
any  region  of  equal  extent  within  the 
United  States,  not  excepting  even  the 
varied  forest  growth  of  the  Mexican 
border  line,  to  which  alone  it  might  be 
worthily  compared. 

Separating  the  forest  floras   of  the 

western  and  eastern  United  States,  lies 

the  broad  region  of  prairies  and  plains. 

Though  trees  are  found  for  the  greater 

91 


FOEEST  TEEES  AND  FOEEST  SCENEEY 

part  only  along  the  banks  of  streams, 
this  region  has  a  curious  interest  for 
the  forester.  It  is  believed  by  many 
that  this  wide  country,  now  waving  in 
grain  and  grass  and  covered  with  ex- 
tensive farms,  was  at  one  time  enriched 
with  scattered  forests;  but  that  these 
have  disappeared  under  the  ravages 
of  repeated  fires,  kindled,  it  is  sup- 
posed, chiefly  by  the  Indians.  At 
present  our  own  race  is  perseveringly 
reclothing  these  prairie  lands  with 
groves  and  avenues  of  trees,  and 
is  planting  belts  of  them  about  farms 
and  orchards  for  protection  from  hot  or 
frosty  vnnds.  Thus  the  fringed  bor- 
ders of  the  streams  are  widening.  The 
outcome  of  this  activity  is  a  development 
that  stands  in  marked  contrast  with  the 
hurried  consumption  of  our  other  forests. 
92 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  AMERICAN  F0REST8 

Then,  lastly,  there  lies  beyond  this 
region  the  vast  territory  of  the  Rockies 
and  the  ranges  of  the  Pacific  coast. 
Extending  over  so  great  a  part  of 
our  country,  the  forests  of  this  region 
exhibit  many  transitions  that  reveal 
the  intimate  relations  between  trees 
and  their  natural  environment;  yet 
here  we  cannot  but  notice  the  enor- 
mous preponderance  of  the  coniferous 
over  the  broadleaf  trees.  Indeed,  it 
amounts  almost  to  an  exclusion  of  the 
latter;  for,  while  some  of  the  poplars 
and  willows  and  several  species  of 
oaks  and  a  few  maples  are  indigenous 
to  this  part  of  the  country,  the  last 
two  in  particular  to  portions  of  Cali- 
fornia, other  broadleaf  trees  are  mere 
stragglers  in  the  land. 

The  forests  of  the  West  retain  much 
93 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

more  of  the  flavor  of  Avilcliiess  than  do 
those  of  the  East,  though  they  hkewise 
show  many  evidences  of  the  hand  of 
man.  It  is  true  that  paths  and  roads 
lead  from  many  famihar  resorts  into 
these  mountain  forests,  that  there  are 
signs  of  the  lumber  industry  and  of 
fires,  and  that  there  are  large  barren 
areas  where  sheep  have  been  contin- 
uously driven  for  pasture.  Extensive 
as  this  interference  with  original  condi- 
tions has  been,  however,  the  changed 
aspect  of  the  forest  has  not  always 
remained  permanent,  because  nature, 
where  it  is  possible,  comes  back  pa- 
tiently to  restore  life  and  beauty  to  the 
wasted  places.  Over  lofty  ranges  and 
in  inaccessible  places  we  may  still  find 
the  original  forest  bequeathed  to  us 
from  early  days ;  but  not  in  such  places 
94 


DISTEIBUTION  OF  AMEEICAN  FORESTS 

only:  for  if  we  look  closely  we  shall  also 
recognize  the  old  character  and  expres- 
sion in  the  harvested  forests  that  have 
long  since  been  deserted  and  forgotten 
and  at  last  returned,  like  lost  children, 
to  the  fostering  care  of  their  mother. 

The  forests  of  the  West  may  be  fitly 
separated  into  two  parts.  The  greater 
part  embraces  the  Rocky  Mountain 
ranges,  while  the  other  extends  from 
the  crests  of  the  Sierra  Kevada  to  the 
sea.  In  the  former  the  forests  are 
sometimes  open  in  character  and  sepa- 
rated by  parks  or  grassy  plains,  or  they 
constitute  a  scattered  tree  growth  on 
the  high  altitudes  of  the  rougher  ridges. 
This  open  character  is  sometimes  due 
to  devastation  by  fires,  but  generally  it 
is  the  result  of  climatic  conditions. 
And  yet  there  are  wide  tracts  and 
95 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

spaces  within  this  region  that  bear 
dense  forests,  notwithstanding  the  bar- 
ren soil  and  the  austere  cHmate;  for- 
ests that  have  been  but  httle  or  in  no 
wise  disturbed,  and  whose  expression 
differs  in  an  unmistakable  manner 
from  the  opener  growth  of  the  broad- 
leaf  forests  of  the  East. 

Denser  than  these  and  more  awe- 
inspiring  are  the  forests  of  the  States 
bordering  the  Pacific.  Here  the  mois- 
ture from  the  sea,  an  equable  climate,  and 
a  generous  soil,  have  produced  the  tall 
and  somber  red  firs,  the  stately  hemlocks 
and  cedars,  the  redwoods  of  the  coast, 
and  the  consummate  beauty  and  mag- 
nificence of  those  opener  groves  of  big 
trees,  sugar  pines,  and  bull  pines,  that 
have  always  commanded  the  admiration 
and  wonder  of  visitors  to  that  region. 
96 


IV 

CHARACTER   OF    THE   BROADLEAF 
FORESTS 

TF  the  individual  trees  of  the  two 
main  groups  that  were  described  in 
the  opening  chapter  impress  us  differ- 
ently as  they  belong  to  the  one  or  the 
other,  it  will  be  found  that  the  two 
kinds  of  forests  likewise  convey  dis- 
tinct impressions.  Different  in  aspect, 
they  are  also  distinguished  one  from 
the  other  by  the  different  atmosphere 
or  spirit  that  pervades  them.  Taking 
leave  here  of  the  trees  as  individuals,  I 
shall  now  examine  the  characteristics 
of  woodland  scenery. 
97 


FOREST  TEEES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

It  has  been  said  that  the  broadleaf 
trees  grow  naturally  over  a  wide  extent 
of  territory.  Of  the  unbroken  wilder- 
nesses that  covered  the  eastern  parts  of 
our  country  when  it  began  to  be  colo- 
nized, only  fragments  remain.  A  few 
States  are  still  densely  wooded,  but  in 
these  the  forces  which  have  caused 
the  disappearance  of  similar  forests  in 
other  regions  have  now  begun  to  assert 
themselves.  Some  will  yield  to  their 
old  enemy,  the  ravaging  fire  that  could 
so  often  be  prevented;  others  must  ulti- 
mately recede  to  make  way  for  agri- 
culture; many  will  be  removed  more 
rapidly  for  the  sake  of  their  material. 
It  is  confidently  to  be  expected,  how- 
ever, in  view  of  the  widening  influ- 
ence forestry  is  exerting,  that  where 
it  is  desirable  a  provision  will  be 
98 


CHARACTEK  OF  BROADLEAF  FORESTS 

made  for  a  future  growth  to  replace 
the  present  one. 

Of  the  broadleaf  forests  there  are 
many  types.  There  are  forests  of  oak 
and  chestnut,  of  maple  and  beech ;  dry 
upland  forests,  and  the  tangled  woods 
of  the  swamps.  There  are  young  thick- 
ets of  bu^ch  and  aspen,  of  willow  and 
alder,  and  scrubby  oak  barrens.  There 
are  second-growth  forests,  and  now 
and  then  even  a  patch  of  fine  old  virgin 
timber.  In  size,  also,  there  is  a  great 
difference,  from  the  grove  that  covers 
the  hilltop  to  the  unbroken  forest  that 
stretches  over  an  entire  mountain 
range. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  \mriety  is 
one  of  the  marked  characteristics  of 
our  eastern  woods.  As  several  hun- 
dred different  kinds  of  trees  enter  into 
99 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

theii'  composition  under  every  form  and 
modification  of  circumstance,  we  find 
in  these  woods  an  endless  novelty 
and  perennial  freshness.  The  young 
swamp  growth  of  red  maple,  white 
birch,  and  alder,  bedded  in  grass  and 
wild  flowers,  is  very  different  from  the 
dense  young  forest  of  birch  and  aspen 
of  the  northern  woods  that,  under  the 
influence  of  ample  light,  has  sprung 
into  being  after  some  recent  fire,  the 
signs  of  which  are  still  visible  in  the 
charred  stumps  under  the  young  trees. 
The  open  groves  of  old  oak  and  chest- 
nut on  the  hill,  with  the  slanting  light  of 
autumn  and  deep  beds  of  dry,  rustling 
leaves,  are  likewise  different  from  the 
secluded  forest  in  unfrequented  moun- 
tains, where  young  and  old  growth 
mingle  together:  crooked  ashes  and 
100 


CHARACTER  OF  BROADLEAF  FORESTS 

moss-covered  elms  with  straight  young 
hickories,  with  shrubs  and  vines,  and 
httle  seedhngs  sprouting  among  the 
rocks  and  mosses. 

If  we  were  to  proceed  in  a  continuous 
journey  from  the  staid  forests  of  the 
N^orth  to  the  more  diversified  growth 
of  the  intermediate  States,  and,  going 
on,  were  to  visit  the  complex  forests 
of  the  South,  we  should  notice  only  a 
very  gradual  transition.  Yet  if  we 
were  to  study  any  particular  region 
within  these  larger  areas  it  would  be 
found  to  have  certain  definite  charac- 
teristics. 

Let  us  imagine  om^selves  standing, 
for  instance,  on  some  point  of  van- 
tage in  the  Blue  Ridge  of  Yirginia, 
the  season  being  early  May.  The 
view  extends  across  ranges  of  low, 
101 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

rounded  mountains,  which  are  fresh 
with  the  new  foliage  of  spring.  On  the 
nearest  hills  the  individual  trees  and 
their  combinations  into  groups  can  be 
distinguished ;  but  receding  into  the 
valleys  and  more  distant  slopes  the 
forms  and  colors  grow  less  distinct,  till 
the  tone  becomes  darker  and  at  last 
melts  into  the  familiar  hazy  blue  of 
the  distant  hills.  Looking  again  at  the 
nearer  hillsides,  we  recognize  the  tulip 
trees  with  their  shapely  crowns,  clothed 
in  a  soft  green  and  lifted  somewhat 
above  the  general  outline.  The  light 
green  of  the  opening  elms  and  sweet 
gums  can  be  very  well  distinguished 
beyond  the  more  shadowy  beeches, 
ashes,  and  maples.  The  remaining 
spaces  are  occupied  by  hickories  and 
chestnuts,  still  brown  and  leafless,  and 
102 


CHARACTER  OF  BROADLEAF  FORESTS 

by  rusty-hued  oaks,  which  are  only 
just  begmning  to  break  their  buds. 
"Within  the  leafless  portions  of  the  wood 
an  occasional  dash  of  bright  yellow  or 
creamy  white,  not  quite  concealed, 
shows  where  the  sassafras  or  dogwood 
is  in  bloom.  The  crests  and  ridges, 
however,  are  likely  to  be  occupied  by 
groups  and  bands  of  pines,  while  the 
sides  of  the  mountain  brook  will  be 
studded  with  cedars  and  hemlocks. 

In  such  scenery,  if  it  be  natural, 
there  is  no  vulgarity  and  no  faultiness 
of  design.  With  all  the  variety  there 
is  still  a  fitness  in  form,  color,  and  ex- 
pression. It  is  rough,  but  pure  in 
taste.  For  instance,  the  pine  groves 
on  the  mountain  ridges  are  not  sharply 
defined  in  their  margins  and  thus  sepa- 
rated from  the  rest  of  the  forest,  but 
103 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

they  gradually  merge  with  the  neigh- 
boring trees  in  a  way  that  was  naturally 
foreshadowed  in  the  conformation  of 
the  land  and  the  composition  of  the  soil. 
A  feature  so  natural  and  self-evi- 
dent may  hardly  appear  worthy  of  no- 
tice ;  but  its  value  is  appreciated  as  soon 
as  we  compare  the  outlines  referred 
to  with  the  rigid  forms  of  some  of  the 
artificial  forests  of  Europe.  Those 
who  have  seen  the  checkered  forests 
of  Germany,  where  the  design  of  the 
planted  strip  of  trees,  like  a  patch 
upon  the  mountain,  is  unmistakable, 
A\dll  readily  note  the  contrast  between 
the  natural  and  the  artificial  type. 
^N^either  is  there  any  striving  for  effect 
in  the  natural  forest,  an  error  not  un- 
common in  the  tree  groupings  of  parks 
or  private  estates.  In  these  an  effort 
104 


CHARACTER  OF  BROADLEAF  FORESTS 

is  sometimes  made  to  produce  an  im- 
pression by  contrasts  in  form  and  color, 
but  too  often  the  outcome  is  mere  con- 
spicuousness;  while  nature,  in  some 
subtle  way,  has  touched  the  true  chord. 
Forest  scenery,  however,  need  not  be 
as  extensive  as  this  in  order  to  add  ap- 
preciably to  the  beauty  of  landscape.  In 
the  valley  of  southern  Virginia,  among 
the  peach  orchards  and  sheep  farms, 
low  hills  lie  scattered  on  both  sides  of 
the  valley  road.  The  mountain  ranges 
beyond  them  recede  to  a  great  distance, 
and  are  partly  hidden  from  view  by 
these  intervening  hills.  The  latter, 
however,  are  decked  with  bits  of  wood- 
land: groves  of  oak,  chestnut,  and 
beech,  where  the  horseman  on  sunny 
summer  days  finds  a  welcome  coolness 
and  shade.  Would  these  sylvan  spots 
105 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

be  missed  if  they  were  to  be  removed? 
They  now  exercise  a  beneficial  influ- 
ence on  the  drainage  and  moisture 
conditions  of  the  surrounding  farm- 
lands, and  they  supply  some  of  the 
home  wants  of  the  farmers.  But  they 
have  an  esthetic  value  also.  They  are 
usually  in  neat  and  healthy  condition, 
and,  viewed  either  from  within  or 
without,  they  are  balm  to  the  eyes  as 
they  lie  scattered  promiscuously  over 
the  hills. 

It  is  hardly  two  hundred  miles  by 
road  from  that  region  to  the  high 
mountains  of  the  I^^orth  Carolina  and 
Tennessee  border,  where  we  find  broad- 
leaf  forests  of  the  wildest  and  roughest 
kind.  These  happily  still  possess  the 
great  charm  of  undisturbed  nature. 
The  small  mountain  towns  lie  scat- 
106 


CHARACTER  OF  BROADLEAF  FORESTS 

tered  far  apart.  The  region  is  even 
bleak  and  dreary  —  at  least  nntil  the 
summer  comes;  but  when  everything 
turns  green  the  season  is  glorious.  As 
we  ride  through  these  woods  we  real- 
ize the  majesty  of  their  stillness  and 
strength,  and  cannot  help  admiring  the 
great  oaks  and  chestnuts  that  contend 
for  the  ground,  succmnbing  only  after 
centuries  in  the  strife. 

While  the  broadleaf  forests  of 
western  ^orth  Carolina  and  eastern 
Tennessee  are  characterized  princi- 
pally by  grandeur,  this  is  not  com- 
monly a  pronounced  trait  of  the  leafy 
forests.  Rather  are  they  distinguished 
for  a  certain  air  of  cheerfulness,  the 
expression  of  which  will  vary  in  dif- 
ferent localities;  but  in  some  way  it 
will  manifest  itself  almost  everywhere. 
107 


FOEEST  TEEES  AND  FOEEST  SOEKEEY 

Thus,  in  the  southern  half  of  ^ew 
England  woodland  scenery  is  marked 
by  a  peculiar  expression  of  quiet 
gladness.  Whether  it  be  in  small 
farm  woods  among  low  liills,  or  in 
continuous  forest,  as  in  the  Berkshires, 
there  is  the  same  happy  choice  in 
bright  and  cheerful  ti*ees:  maples, 
birches,  elms,  and  others;  some  bright 
with  early  spring  blossoms,  some  add- 
ing to  the  variety  of  color  by  their  bark 
or  shining  leaves,  others  agile  of  leaf 
and  bough  in  the  frequent  breezes. 
Here  we  find  an  abundance  of  oaks, 
trees  whose  fresh,  glossy  leaves  seem 
to  be  specially  well  fitted  to  purify  the 
air,  for  there  is  a  distinct  and  refresh- 
ing odor  in  oak  forests.  We  find  an 
ample  choice  of  tender,  springy  plants 
among  the  moist  rocks.  These  smaller 
108 


CHARACTER  OF  BROADLEAF  FORESTS 

woods,  too,  are  the  favored  haunts  of 
the  songbh-ds,  for  here  they  find  the 
ghnt  of  sunshine  that  they  so  much 
dehght  in. 

A  similar  warmth  of  expression  be- 
longs to  the  leafy  woods  of  other 
regions.  If  we  compare  New  Eng- 
land with  Pennsylvania,  we  shall  find 
that  the  broadleaf  forests  of  the  latter 
are  denser  and  more  continuous,  while 
they  are  at  the  same  time  richer  in  the 
variety  of  trees,  shrubs,  and  other 
forms  of  embellishment,  which  find  here 
a  milder  air  and  a  richer  soil.  Spring- 
time is  more  luxuriant  and  replete  with 
happy  surprise  and  change.  But  while 
these  forests  are  perhaps  more  elabo- 
rate than  those  of  southern  New  Eng- 
land, I  cannot  say  that  they  unpress 
me  as  being  so  homelike  and  engaging. 
109 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

Along  the  Gulf  and  in  Florida  the 
dank  forests  of  the  swamps  and  river 
bottoms,  finding  all  the  conditions  fa- 
vorable to  a  luxuriant  vegetation,  are 
characterized  by  extraordinary  complex- 
ity of  growth.  Perhaps  we  enter  some 
secluded  patch  of  virgin  forest,  and  sit 
down  for  a  while  in  its  dense  shade, 
impressed  by  the  strangeness  and  soli- 
tude of  the  place.  Our  curiosity  is 
aroused  by  the  multifarious  assem- 
blage of  trees,  vines,  and  shrubbery, 
and  we  wonder  how  many  ages  it  has 
been  thus,  and  how  far  back  some  of 
the  oldest  trees  may  date  in  their  his- 
tory. But  they  seem  rather  to  have 
no  age  at  all;  only  to  be  linked  in 
some  mysterious  way  with  the  dim 
past  out  of  which  they  have  arisen. 

A  mighty  live  oak  leans  across  the 
110 


Virgin  Forest  8eeiie  m  lUnid 


CHARACTER  OF  BROADLEAF  FORESTS 

scene,  moist  and  green  with  moss;  an- 
other is  noticed  farther  away  among 
slender  palmettos,  whose  spear-edged 
leaves  catch  the  sunlight.  Vines  and 
climbers  hang  about  the  stems  or 
droop  lazily  from  the  boughs.  In  the 
nearby  sluggish  water,  where  the  soil 
is  deep  and  moldy,  stands  a  sweet 
gimi  with  curiously  chiseled  bark,  as  if 
some  patient  artist  had  been  at  work ; 
and  a  little  beyond,  some  cypresses  are 
roofed  by  the  delicate  web  of  their  own 
foliage. 

We  may  sit  dreaming  away  a  full 
hour  thus,  with  only  the  hum  of  a  few 
insects  and  perhaps  a  stray  scarlet 
tanager  flitting  by  to  disturb  our  medi- 
tations. 

It  has  been  indicated  in  a  former 
chapter  that  the  broadleaf  woods, 
111 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

taken  as  a  whole,  are  decidedly  richer 
in  shrubs  and  small  plants  than  the 
evergreen  or  coniferous  forests.  This 
adventitious  source  of  beauty  has  much 
to  do  with  their  general  character,  be- 
cause the  gay  show  of  blossom  and 
fruit,  bright  stem,  and  diverse  habits 
of  growth  of  these  lesser  plants,  con- 
tributes appreciably  to  the  liveliness  of 
sylvan  scenery.  But  the  effect  derived 
from  the  blossoms  and  fruits  of  many 
of  the  trees  themselves  should  not  be 
overlooked.  In  this  respect  the  broad- 
leaf  trees  are  superior  to  the  evergreens. 
The  poplars  and  willows  ripen  their 
woolly  and  silvery  tassels  when  the 
snow  has  scarcely  disappeared.  The 
bright  tufts  of  the  red  maple,  the  little 
yellow  flowers  of  the  sassafras,  the 
snowy  white  ones  of  the  sei'viceberry 
112 


CHAEACTER  OF  BROADLEAF  FORESTS 

and  flowering  dogwood,  the  latter' s 
red  berries  in  fall,  the  brilliant  fruit 
of  the  mountain  ash,  the  perfect  flowers 
of  the  magnolias,  the  heavily  clus- 
tered locusts,  honey  locusts,  and  black 
cherries,  and  the  basswoods  with 
fragrant  little  creamy  flowers,  alike 
do  their  part  in  lending  character  to 
the  forest  wherever  they  may  have 
their  range. 

Then,  in  addition  to  the  beauty 
that  appeals  to  us  through  the  outward 
senses,  there  is  a  quality  in  the  forests 
that  is  dear  to  us  through  an  inward 
sense.  It  is  the  influence  of  a  temper- 
ament that  seems  to  belong  to  the  place 
itself:  the  pure  and  health-giving  atmo- 
sphere, the  quiet  and  rest  that  binds  up 
the  wounded  spirit  and  brings  peace 
to  the  troubled  mind. 
113 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

We  leave  the  turmoil  of  the  city  and 
the  thousand  little  cares  of  daily  life 
and  seek  refuge  for  a  while  in  sylvan 
retreats,  in  some  pleasant  leafy  forest 
with  murmuring  water  and  sunbeams ; 
and  presently  the  ruffled  concerns  of 
yesterday  are  smoothed  away  and  the 
forest,  like  sleep,  "  knits  up  the  raveled 
sleeve  of  care." 

In  the  woods  there  is  harmony  in  all 
things;  all  things  are  subordinated  to 
one  purpose  and  desire:  that  the  best 
may  be  made  out  of  life,  however  small 
the  means.  There  is  a  kind  of  honesty 
and  truth  here,  and  a  self-sufficiency 
in  everything,  Shakspere  says,  in  the 
words  of  Duke  Senior,  who  stands  sur- 
rounded by  his  followers  in  the  Forest 
of  Arden  ("  As  You  Like  it,"  act  ii, 
scene  1) :  — 

114 


CHARACTER  OF  BROADLEAF  FORESTS 

Are  not  these  woods 
More  free  from  peril  than  the  envious 

court  ? 
Here  feel  we  but  the  penalty  of  Adam, 
The  seasons'  difference  ;  as,  the  icy  fang 
And  churlish  chiding  of  the  winter's  wind, 
Which,  when  it  bites  and  blows  upon  my 

body, 
Even  till  I  shrink  with  cold,  I  smile,  and 

say, 
"  This  is  no  flattery :  these  are  counselors 
That  feelingly  persuade  me  what  I  am." 

And  this  our  life,  exempt  from  public 
haunt, 

Finds  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  run- 
ning brooks. 

Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  everything. 


115 


THE   CONIFEROUS   FORESTS 

IT  has  already  been  said  (page  31) 
that  the  evergreen  or  coniferons 
forests  differ  from  those  described  in 
the  foregoing  chapter  by  a  denser  com- 
mnnity  of  growth  and  by  their  frequent 
occurrence  as  "  pure  "  forests.  Their 
gregariousness  makes  it  proper  to  apply 
such  expressions  as  the  "pine  forests 
of  Michigan  "  and  the  "  spruce  forests 
of  Maine."  It  will  be  seen  presently 
that  these  special  characteristics  are 
esthetically  important.  Moreover,  it  is 
a  fact  that  they  borrow  much  grandeur 
and  beauty  from  the  atmospheric  con- 
116 


Courtesy  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry 

A  Group  of  Conifers.     Montana 


THE   CONIFEEOUS  FORESTS 

ditions  of  their  environment,  which,  if 
we  except  certain  large  tracts  of  pine 
forests,  is  commonly  placed  among 
mountains  and  at  considerable  eleva- 
tions above  the  sea.  To  these  several 
sources  must  be  ascribed  many  of  the 
qualities  that  have  invested  the  ever- 
green forests  with  a  peculiar  magnifi- 
cence and  beauty. 

The  reader  may  be  surprised  at  the 
statement  that  coniferous  forests  are 
distinguished  for  a  "dense  commu- 
nity of  growth,"  for  it  must  have 
been  noticed  that  many  of  our  Rocky 
Mountain  forests  do  not  bear  evidence 
of  this  fact.  And  yet  it  is  true  that 
the  typical  habit,  so  to  speak,  of  the 
conifers  is  a  close  huddling  together  of 
individuals.  It  is  shown  in  the  mas- 
sive red  fir  forests  of  western  Wash- 
117 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

ington  and  the  redwoods  of  California, 
which  are  probably  the  densest  and 
heaviest  in  the  world;  in  the  crowded 
Engelmann  spruce  and  alpine  fir  groves 
common  to  certain  soils  and  situations 
in  Colorado ;  and  in  the  dense  tracts  of 
lodgepole  pine  scattered  throughout 
the  mountains  of  the  West.  In  the 
East  the  same  tendency  is  illustrated 
by  the  better  sections  of  the  Adirondack 
spruce  forests  and  the  splendid  pineries 
that  once  covered  the  Great  Lake  re- 
gion. If  we  call  to  mind  these  exten- 
sive examples,  we  realize  how  the  coni- 
fers ever  strive  to  build  a  dense  and 
impenetrable  forest.  That  they  are  ca- 
pable of  a  like  growth  in  other  parts 
of  the  world  also,  will  be  attested  by 
those  who  have  seen  the  spruce  and  fir 
forests  of  Germany  and  France. 
118 


THE  CONIFEROUS   FOEESTS 

While  the  regions  that  have  just 
been  mentioned  exhibit  the  health  and 
vigor  of  coniferous  forests  under  favor- 
able natural  conditions,  there  are  cer- 
tain portions  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
where  the  climate  is  too  dry  and  the 
topography  and  soil  are  too  austere 
and  rocky  to  suit  even  that  hardy  class 
of  trees.  So  here,  under  circumstances 
that  may  almost  be  pronounced  abnor- 
mal for  forest  growth,  the  evergreens 
fight  a  harder  battle,  while  the  broad- 
leaf  trees,  with  the  exception  of  the 
poplar  tribe,  are  scarce  indeed.  "We 
must,  therefore,  turn  to  the  more  typi- 
cal coniferous  forests  that  have  en- 
joyed at  least  a  fair  share  of  nature's 
gifts  —  whether  it  be  within  the  range 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  or  elsewhere 
—  to  understand  those  peculiar  quali- 
119 


FOEEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

ties  that  are  connected  with  their  sur- 
roundings or  their  characteristic  habits 
of  growth. 

One  of  the  commonest  attributes  of 
such  forests  is  their  grandeur;  partly 
inherent  and  in  part  also  derived  from 
the  sublimity  of  their  surroundings. 
Their  situation  is  often  in  the  midst  of 
wild  and  picturesque  mountain  scenery, 
where  they  find  a  proper  setting  for 
their  own  majestic  forms  among  crags 
and  precipices  and  on  the  great  shoul- 
ders of  mountains;  where  powerful 
winds  and  severe  snows  test  their  en- 
durance and  strength.  It  is  here  that 
we  chiefly  find  those  awe-inspiring  dis- 
tant views  that  harmonize  so  well  with 
the  evergreen  forests.  The  trees  spread 
over  the  mountains  for  miles  and  miles 
in  closely  fledged  masses,  and  become 
120 


THE   CONIFEEOUS  FORESTS 

more  impressive  with  distance  as  the 
color  changes  from  a  continuity  of  dark 
green  to  shades  of  blue  and  soft,  dis- 
tant purple.  In  form  and  color  the 
trees  blend  together  and  seem  to  move 
up  the  dangerous  slopes  and  difficult 
passes  in  mighty  multitudes. 

Contributing  to  the  same  impression 
of  grandeur,  we  have  the  possibility  in 
these  lofty  regions  of  certain  glorious 
effects  in  sunlight  and  shade.  At  sun- 
rise the  first  rays  flash  on  the  pointed 
tops  of  the  uppermost  trees,  and  with 
the  advancing  hours  descend  the  dark 
slopes  on  their  golden  errand.  Mean- 
while the  western  sides  lie  in  shadow. 
At  noon  a  soft  haze  spreads  through 
the  valleys,  and  in  the  twilight  hours 
the  intense  depth  of  purple  in  the  dis- 
tant ranges,  where  stratus  clouds  catch 
121 


FOKEST  TKEES  AND  FOKEST  SCENERY 

the  last  rays  of  the  sun,  obscures  the 
contours  of  the  forests  and  makes 
them  even  more  sublime.  This,  too, 
were  not  possible  without  great  mass 
and  uniformity  of  aspect. 

The  interchange  between  lights  and 
shadows  cast  by  the  moving  clouds  is 
nowhere  so  effectivel}^  exhibited  as  in 
higher  altitudes  and  over  the  surfaces  of 
evergreen  forests.  A  wide  expanse  en- 
ables us  to  follow  with  our  eyes  the  in- 
teresting chase  of  the  cloud  shadows,  as 
they  fly  up  the  slopes,  the  steeper  the 
faster,  and  glide  noiselessly  but  swiftly 
over  outstretched  areas  of  endless  green. 
The  clouds  seem  to  move  faster  over 
mountain  ranges,  as  a  rule,  than  they 
do  over  the  low  valleys.  Or  is  it  only 
because  now  we  see  them  nearer  by  and 
can  gage  the  rapidity  of  their  flight? 
122 


THE  CONIFEROUS   FORESTS 

Suppose,  instead  of  a  restless  day, 
it  should  be  calm,  with  cloud  masses 
heaped  in  the  sky  and  the  sun  sinking 
low.  There  has  been  a  loose  snowfall 
in  the  afternoon,  and  every  twig, 
branch,  and  spray  hangs  muffled  in 
snow.  The  rocks  are  capped  with  a 
light  cover  and  ribbed  with  snowy 
lines  along  their  sides.  The  air  is 
pure  and  breathless.  The  disappear- 
ing sun  sends  back  a  rosy  light  to  the 
canopy  of  clouds  overhead,  and  the 
reflection  falls  upon  masses  of  frosted, 
whitened  evergreens,  lending  them  a 
breath  of  color  that  deepens  as  the  sun 
sinks  lower  still;  and  the  rays  enter 
the  openings  of  the  hills  and  flood  the 
opposite  slopes,  till  they  glow  with  a 
fiery  red. 

Thus  the  grandeur  of  these  forests 
123 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

may  be  due  to  expanse  and  volume, 
depth  of  color,  sunlight  and  shade,  or 
to  effects  borrowed  from  the  clouds. 
Finally,  we  notice  another  kind  of 
grandeur  when  coniferous  forests  are 
visited  by  storms.  First  comes  the 
moaning  of  the  wind,  mysterious  and 
unsearchable,  and  different  from  the 
roar  and  rush  that  sweeps  through 
the  broadleaf  woods.  Then  follows 
the  uneasy  communication  from  tree 
to  tree,  a  trembling  that  spreads  from 
section  to  section.  When  the  rush 
of  the  wind  finally  strikes  the  tall, 
straight  forms  they  do  not  sway  their 
arms  about  as  wildly  as  do  the  maples, 
elms,  or  tulip  trees,  but  bend  and  sway 
throughout  their  length  and  rock  ma- 
jestically. 

Not   in    outward   aspect   alone    are 
124 


A  Thicket  of  White  Firs 


THE   CONIFEROUS   FORESTS 

these  forests  noble  and  stately.  A 
nobleness  lies  in  the  nature  of  the 
living  trees  themselves;  for,  though 
we  may  call  them  unconscious,  it  is 
life  still,  and  they  are  expressive  with 
meaning.  Far  sunpler  in  their  habits 
and  requirements  than  the  broadleaf 
trees,  they  are,  nevertheless,  more  gen- 
erous to  man.  Endurance  and  hard- 
ship is  their  lot,  but  noble  form  of 
trunk  and  crown  and  useful  soft  wood 
are  the  products  of  their  life.  There  is 
no  forest  mantle  like  theirs  to  shield 
from  the  blast,  especially  when  it  is 
formed  of  young  thickets  of  the  sim- 
ple but  refined  spruces  and  firs. 
When,  at  the  last,  they  yield  then*  life 
to  man,  it  seems  to  me  there  is  some- 
thing exalted  even  in  the  manner  of 
their  fall.  The  tree  hardly  quivers 
125 


FOEEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

under  the  blows  of  the  ax;  a  mere 
trembling  in  the  outermost  twigs,  and 
then,  hardly  as  if  cut  off  from  the 
source  of  life,  the  tall,  straight  form 
sinks  slowly  to  the  earth. 

Another  common  attribute  of  ever- 
green forests  is  their  characteristic 
silence.  Birds  do  not  frequent  them  as 
much  as  the  leafy  forests.  In  these 
solitudes,  far  removed  from  village  and 
farm,  there  is  often  no  sound  but  the 
ring  of  the  distant  ax  and  the  sough 
of  the  wind.  In  winter,  as  we  push 
thi'ough  the  thickets  of  small  spruces 
or  hemlocks,  or  stand  for  a  while  be- 
neath lofty  pines,  while  all  around  is 
muffled  in  snow,  the  silence  seems  sanc- 
tified and  vaster  than  elsewhere. 

In  addition  to  their  grandeur  and 
sublimity,  and  their  silence,  they  are  dis- 
126 


THE   CONIFEROUS   FORESTS 

tingnished  for  an  element  of  softness. 
This  is  seen  in  the  delicate  texture  and 
pure  color  of  their  foliage,  the  effect  of 
which  is  heightened  by  being  massed 
in  the  dense  forest.  We  have  already 
noticed  the  mild  olive  shade  of  the 
eastern  white  pine.  "When  the  wind 
blows  through  it,  it  seems  as  if  the 
foliage  were  melting  away.  It  would 
be  difficult,  also,  to  match  the  green 
color  of  the  red  fir,  especially  as  it 
looks  in  winter ;  or  the  luxuriant  bluish- 
gray  of  the  western  blue  spruce. 

A  further  softening  in  the  general 
effect  of  evergreen  forests  is  produced 
by  the  manner  in  which  the  trees  in- 
termingle in  the  dense  mass,  merging 
their  sharp,  individual  outlines  in  the 
rounded  contours  and  upper  surfaces  of 
the  combined  view.  Near  at  hand,  of 
127 


FOKEST  TKEES  AND  FOEEST  SCENERY 

course,  we  cannot  but  notice  the  atten- 
uated forms  and  jagged  edges  of  the 
trees,  which,  indeed,  are  interesting 
enough  in  themselves;  but  on  look- 
ing gradually  into  the  distance  we 
find  them  thatching  into  one  another, 
closing  up  interstices  and  smoothing 
away  irregularities  in  a  remarkable 
way.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the 
spruces  and  firs;  but  in  some  of  the 
opener  pine  forests,  as,  for  example,  in 
the  longleaf  pines  of  the  South,  the 
boughs  and  crowns  themselves  are 
rounded  into  masses  and  pleasing 
contours.  It  should  be  remembered, 
also,  that  these  effects  are  present  in 
winter  as  well  as  in  summer. 

The  element  of  softness  is  sometimes 
brought  into  very  beautiful  association 
with  certain  effects  of  mists  and  clouds. 
128 


THE   CONIFEROUS   FORESTS 

The  indistinct  contours  and  delicate 
lights  of  the  drifting  vapors  and  cloud 
forms,  as  they  wander  across  the  trees, 
blend  with  the  serene  aspect  of  the 
forest.  At  other  times  the  clouds 
gather  into  banks  and  lie  motionless  in 
some  valley  or  rest  like  a  veil  upon  the 
mountain  tops.  Wordsworth  has  de- 
scribed these  effects  in  his  graphic 
way  by  saying,— 

Far-stretclied  beneath  the  many-tinted  hills, 
A  mighty  waste  of  mist  the  valley  fills, 
A  solemn  sea  !  whose  billows  wide  around 
Stand  motionless,  to  awful  silence  bound  : 
Pines,  on  the  coast,  through  mist  their  tops 

uprear 
That  like  to  leaning  masts  of  stranded  ships 

appear. 

In  spring  or  summer  just  before  sun- 
rise it  is  very  beautiful  to  see  how  these 
129 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

banks  of  vapor  are  lifted  by  the  stirring 
airs  of  the  dawn,  how  the  draperies  of 
mist  draw  apart  and  open  np  vistas  of 
the  trees,  which  di'ip  with  moisture, 
and  are  presently  illumined  by  the 
broad  shafts  of  sunlight  that  pour  down 
upon  them. 

Lest  it  be  thought  that  only  the 
dense  coniferous  forests  possess  supe- 
rior qualities,  I  desire  to  put  in  a  plea 
for  the  open  ones  also. 

It  is  a  universal  truth  in  nature  that 
when  a  living  thing  has  made  the  best 
possible  use  of  its  environment,  when 
the  power  Avithin  has  been  sacrificed 
and  united  to  the  circumstances  with- 
out, there  is  evolved  a  dignity  of  charac- 
ter and  a  resulting  expression  of  fitness 
and  beauty.  This  principle  is  exem- 
plified in  the  very  open  forests  of  the 
130 


irtcsy  of  (hi  Burttut  of  Fort.stri/ 

An  Open  Forest  in  the  Southwest 


THE  CONIFEKOUS   FORESTS 

Southwest.  In  the  mountam  ranges  of 
'New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  southern 
CaUfornia  the  forests  have  a  hard 
struggle  for  existence.  The  winter 
months  at  the  higher  elevations  are  se- 
vere; in  the  summer  rain  is  scarce,  or 
entirely  absent,  and  the  sun  beats  down 
upon  the  dry  earth  through  the  rarefied 
atmosphere  with  intense  and  desiccating 
power.  ]N^aturally  the  forest  trees  are 
scattered,  and  on  the  steep,  crumbly 
slopes,  dry  and  rocky,  they  hug  the 
soil  and  cling  to  it  with  uncertain  foot- 
ing. But  in  a  sheltered  ravine,  or  on 
the  back  of  a  rounded  ridge,  or  in  a 
slight  swale  or  hollow  of  the  mountain 
—  repeatedly,  in  fact,  among  those  rug- 
ged slopes  — we  meet  with  the  dignity, 
the  beauty,  and  the  peculiar  expressive- 
ness of  the  open  coniferous  forest,  with 
131 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

its  fine  definition  and  stereoscopic  ef- 
fects and  the  depth  and  perspective  of 
its  long  vistas. 

On  the  crest  of  the  mountain,  where, 
from  the  valley  below,  the  early  sun- 
light is  first  seen  to  break  through,  the 
trees,  standing  apart,  do  not  appear  so 
much  like  a  forest  as  like  a  congrega- 
tion of  individuals,  each  with  an  identity 
of  its  own.  Indeed,  there  among  the 
fierce  gales  of  autumn  and  winter  each 
shapes  its  own  life  in  a  glorious  inde- 
pendence, expressive  in  the  knotty, 
twisted  boles  and  the  picturesque 
crowns.  But  in  summer  the  breezes 
strain  through  the  foliage  with  the 
lethargic  sound  of  the  ocean  surge;  or 
a  halcyon  stillness  reigns  under  a  deep 
blue,  cloudless  sky. 

Large  old  trees,  these,  with  a  history, 
132 


A  Storm-beaten  Veteran 


THE   CONIFEROUS   FOEESTS 

that  have  braved  life  together.  They 
have  seen  companion  veterans  fall  by 
their  side,  long  ago,  into  the  deep, 
closely  matted  needle-mold.  Thence 
arose  out  of  the  moister  hollows  be- 
neath the  rotting  trunk  and  boughs  a 
new  generation,  and  the  greater  num- 
ber of  these  have  disappeared,  too, 
for  some  reason  or  another;  only  the 
strongest  at  last  leading,  to  take  the 
place  of  the  departed.  How  dignified, 
how  simple  are  these  old,  stalwart 
trees  on  the  exposed  ridge  of  the 
mountain. 

Thus  the  coniferous  forests,  by  vir- 
tue of  their  inherent  qualities  and  by 
means  of  the  effects  they  borrow  from 
theu^  environment,  possess  a  tone  that 
is  as  original  and  distinct  as  the  char- 
acter of  the  forests  belonging  to  the 
133 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

other  class.  It  has  ah-eady  been  mti- 
mated  that  the  two  are  not  always 
strictly  separable,  but  that  individual 
trees,  or  groups,  or  whole  stretches  of 
woods  of  the  one  will  sometimes  min- 
gle with  the  other,  a  fact  that  has 
probably  been  noticed  by  the  most 
casual  observer.  While  the  cone-bear- 
ers, however,  not  infrequently  de- 
scend into  the  lower  altitudes,  the 
leafy  forest  trees  are  not  so  apt  to 
be  found  at  the  high  elevations  at 
which  many  of  the  former  find  their 
natural  home.  Where  the  cone-bearers 
are  merely  an  addition  to  the  broadleaf 
woods  they  do  not  quite  preserve  their 
identity,  but  rather  impress  us  as  being 
merely  a  part  in  the  general  adornment 
and  composition  of  the  forest  to  which 
they  belong.  Where  they  remain 
134 


THE   CONIFEEOUS   FORESTS 

"pure,"  however,  as  they  do,  for  in- 
stance, in  the  pineries  of  the  coastal 
plain  in  the  South,  they  never  fail  to 
express,  in  one  or  another  manner, 
their  individuality  as  a  forest;  as  by 
their  uniformity  in  size  and  color,  by 
their  odor,  or  by  the  scenic  character 
of  the  region  of  their  occurrence. 

All  the  preceding  qualities  of  conif- 
erous forests  practically  address  them- 
selves in  some  manner  to  our  physi- 
cal senses.  But,  like  the  broadleaf 
forests,  these  also  possess  a  trait  that 
rather  addresses  itself  to  our  mood  or 
personal  temperament.  A  character- 
istic au  of  loneliness  and  wild  seclu- 
sion belongs  to  them  that  contrasts 
strikingly  with  the  cheerful  tone  of 
the  other  class.  It  has  been  commonly 
remarked  that  to  some  kinds  of  people 
135 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

the  coniferous  forests  are  oppressive,  at 
least  on  first  acquaintance.  Such  na- 
tures feel  the  weight  of  their  gloom  and 
lose  then-  own  buoyancy  of  spirit  if  they 
stay  too  long  within  their  confines ;  and 
it  is  noticeable  that  even  the  inhab- 
itants of  these  lonely  retreats  are  not 
infrequently  affected  with  a  reticence 
and  a  kind  of  melancholy  that  im- 
presses the  stranger  almost  like  a  feel- 
ing of  resignation.  This  peculiar  tem- 
perament, however,  ma}'^  be  judged  too 
hastily,  and  is  understood  better  after 
a  time.  It  is  probably  true  that  the 
familiar  and  accessible  woods  of  valley 
and  plain,  where  trails  and  wood-roads 
give  us  a  feeling  of  security,  are  more 
attractive  and  agreeable  to  most  of  us ; 
yet  there  is  a  wonderful  charm  about 
those  dark  forests  of  the  mountains 
136 


THE   CONIFEROUS  FORESTS 

that  have  grown  up  in  undisturbed 
simplicity.  After  the  first  feeling  of 
strangeness  wears  off,  as  it  soon  will, 
they  grow  companionable  and  interest- 
ing. There  is  a  virtue  in  the  sturdy 
forms  that  have  grown  to  maturity 
without  aid  or  interference  by  man. 
We  would  not  change  them  in  that 
place  for  the  most  beautiful  trees  in  a 
park.  Even  the  woodsman,  whose 
days  are  spent  here  in  the  hardest  toil, 
feels  a  longing  for  the  forest,  his  home, 
when  his  short  respite  in  the  summer 
is  over.  So  we,  too,  though  we  may 
long  for  civilization  after  a  few  months 
in  the  forest,  will  yet  feel  the  desire  to 
return  to  it  after  once  thoroughly  mak- 
ing its  acquaintance. 

The   attitude  of   the  woodsman  to- 
ward the  forest  is  much  like  the  af- 
137 


FOEEST  TREES  AND  FOEEST  SCENERY 

fection  which  the  sailor  has  for  the 
ocean.  There  is,  indeed,  a  similarity 
between  their  callings,  and  even  the  ele- 
ments in  which  they  pass  their  lives 
are  not  so  dissimilar  in  reality  as  may 
appear  on  the  snrface.  In  his  vast 
domain  of  evergreen  trees  that  cover 
mountain  and  valley,  the  woodsman, 
too,  is  shut  out  from  the  busier  haunts 
of  men.  He  lives  for  months  in  his 
sequestered  camp  or  cabin,  where  his 
bed  is  often  only  a  narrow  bunk  of 
boughs  or  straw.  His  food  is  simple 
and  his  clothing  rough  and  plain,  to 
suit  the  conditions  of  his  life.  A 
large  part  of  the  time  he  is  out  in 
snow  and  rain,  tramping  over  rough 
rock  and  soil.  The  camps  that  are 
scattered  through  the  forest  are  to  him 
like  islands,  where  he  can  turn  aside 
138 


THE   CONIFEKOUS   FOEESTS 

for  food  and  rest  when  on  some  longer 
journey  than  usual. 

Like  the  sailor  he  also  has  learned 
some  of  the  secrets  of  nature.  He 
does  not  usually  possess  a  compass, 
but  he  can  tell  its  points  by  more 
familiar  signs:  by  the  pendent  tops 
of  the  hemlocks,  which  usually  bend 
toward  the  east,  or  by  the  mossy  sides 
of  the  trees,  which  are  generally 
in  the  direction  of  the  coolest  and 
moistest  quarter  of  the  heavens.  In 
an  extreme  case  he  will  even  mount 
one  of  the  tallest  of  the  trees  to  find 
his  bearings  in  his  oceanlike  forest. 
If  well  judged,  the  sighing  of  the 
v^nd  in  the  boughs,  I  have  been  told, 
says  much  about  the  coming  weather; 
just  as  the  sickly  wash  of  the  waves 
means  something  to  the  sailor.  Withal, 
139 


FOKEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

both  he  and  the  woodsman  are  natural 
and  generally  honest  fellows,  hard 
workers  at  perilous  callings,  and  less 
apt  to  speak  than  to  commune  with 
their  own  thoughts. 


140 


VI 

THE   ARTIFICIAL  FORESTS  OF 
EUROPE 

TO  some  of  us,  in  this  age  of  travel, 
the  forests  of  Europe  have  be- 
come as  familiar  as  our  own.  As 
scenic  objects  they  have  their  faults 
and  their  excellences.  While  we  ap- 
preciate their  order  and  neatness,  and 
the  beautiful  effects  that  may  arise  out 
of  the  subordination  of  all  components 
of  the  forest  to  one  main  purpose,  we 
Americans  always  miss  in  them  the 
freshness  of  nature. 

These   forests,   as   they  now  stand, 
are  the  result  of  a  long-continued  ap- 
141 


FOKEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

plication  of  the  scientific  principles  of 
forestry,  under  special  conditions,  to 
the  European  forests  of  old.  Having 
referred  repeatedly  to  forestry  itself, 
I  now  purpose,  to  the  extent  which  a 
single  chapter  will  permit,  to  explain 
the  sources  of  beauty,  or  the  absence  of 
it,  in  these  artificial  forests.  I  shall 
thus  place  in  contrast  with  our  own, 
which  are  just  beginning  to  undergo 
a  new  process  of  development,  those  of 
Europe,  which  have  long  been  sub- 
jected to  one  in  many  respects  similar. 
The  importance  of  forests  had  long 
been  understood  by  the  people  of 
Europe.  The  relation  which  they  held 
to  civilized  life,  both  in  a  material  way 
and  otherwise,  led,  more  than  a  century 
ago,  to  a  systematic  and  scientific 
treatment.  It  was  realized  that  these 
142 


AKTIFICIAL   FORESTS  OF  EUROPE 

forests  might  be  made  perpetual,  and 
so  might  furnish  a  constant  supply  of 
useful  material;  that  they  economized 
and  regulated  the  flow  of  mountain 
streams,  which  are  always  of  great 
importance  to  the  agricultural  lands  of 
subjacent  regions;  that  they  held  in 
place  the  loose  soil  of  the  slopes,  thus 
averting  avalanches  and  ruinous  floods ; 
that  they  broke  the  force  of  the  winds, 
tempered  and  purified  the  air,  and  I 
may  add,  inspired  man  with  better  and 
happier  thoughts. 

For  these  reasons  the  people  of  Eu- 
rope determined  to  guard  their  forests 
well,  and  to  aid  nature,  if  possible,  in 
becoming  still  more  useful  to  man. 
To  this  end  they  made  a  careful  study 
of  the  life  history  of  the  forest,  and 
investigated  the  requirements  of  the 
143 


FOKEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

trees  and  their  rates  of  growth  under 
varying  conditions  of  soil,  heat,  hght, 
and  moisture.  They  also  studied  the 
numerous  dangers  to  which  the  forest 
is  exposed,  and  invented  means  and 
established  laws  for  its  protection.  In 
short,  they  effected  an  ingenious  ad- 
justment between  the  needs  of  the 
forest  and  the  requirements  of  man, 
and  in  course  of  tune  laid  the  founda- 
tions for  a  new  system  that  was  des- 
tined to  be  of  great  importance  to  the 
economic  interests  of  nations. 

Many  sciences  Avere  involved  in  the 
solution  of  these  questions.  With 
the  progress  in  means  and  methods  the 
aims  and  objects  of  the  new  profes- 
sion gradually  grew  to  be  more  and 
more  clearly  defined,  and  knowledge 
and  experience  ultimately  evolved  the 
144 


ARTIFICIAL   FORESTS  OF  EUROPE 

new  science  of  forestry.  To  the  for- 
ester were  finally  intrusted  the  reestab- 
lishment,  protection  and  preservation, 
the  improvement,  the  regulation,  the 
management  and  administration,  as 
well  as  the  final  cutting,  of  the  forest. 
Such  interference  with  the  work  of 
natm*e  ultimately  affected  its  aspect. 
In  the  long  life  of  the  forest  the 
changes  were  slow,  but  in  course  of 
time  the  stamp  of  artificiality  was  un- 
pressed  upon  it,  and  the  imprint  of 
nature's  own  countenance  was  taken 
away.  To  an  American,  if  he  has 
seen  a  little  of  our  wildness,  a  great 
charm  is  wanting  in  the  artificial  for- 
ests of  Em'ope.  The  sun  does  not  seem 
to  set  naturally,  but  to  hide  behind 
roads  and  houses.  It  may  be  a  life- 
like and  harmonious  scene,  but  it  does 
145 


FOEEST  TEEES  AND  FOEEST  SCENEEY 

not  speak  as  deeply  and  expressively 
as  our  wilder  woods.  The  necessity 
of  it  is  thrust  upon  you.  It  seems,  at 
times,  as  if  the  free  will  and  perfect 
liberty  of  the  air  and  rain,  of  the  wind, 
were  wanting. 

These  forests  are  crossed  by  roads 
and  are  often  divided  into  sections  of 
distinct  age,  kind,  and  appearance. 
Shrubs,  if  any,  are  few.  The  deer's 
track  is  known.  The  history  of  these 
trees  is  known  and  recorded,  and  even 
their  doom  is  fixed  for  a  near  or  dis- 
tant day. 

There  is,  however,  another  side  to 
this  question.  Through  their  very  de- 
sign and  fitness  for  an  intended  object 
the  effects  that  are  produced  are  often 
decidedly  pleasing.  What  these  effects 
are  will  now  appear  from  an  examina- 
146 


AETIFICIAL   FOEESTS   OF   EUEOPE 

tion  of  the  four  different  types  or 
classes  that  constitute  at  present  the 
artificial  forests  of  Europe. 

The  type  of  artificial  forest  that 
differs  least  from  our  own  eastern 
woods  is  one  that  has  received  the 
name  of  "  selection  forest."  It  consti- 
tutes a  transition  to  the  more  complex 
forms.  As  in  our  own  case,  trees  of 
different  kinds  and  of  various  sizes 
are  intermingled  in  the  forest;  but  the 
European  forest  has  more  uniformity 
than  ours,  and  expresses  a  conceived 
purpose.  This  is  readily  explained  by 
the  fact  that  from  the  beginning  of 
the  new  method  the  trees  were  never 
removed  indiscriminately  from  the 
wooded  area,  but  that  a  careful  selec- 
tion was  made  from  time  to  time  of 
certain  kinds,  according  to  size  and 
147 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

usefulness.  Useful  material,  however, 
was  not  the  sole  consideration.  The 
cutting  was  intended  also  to  improve 
the  conditions  of  growth  for  the  trees 
that  remained  standing,  and  to  increase 
the  proportion  of  the  species  that  were 
most  useful  or  desirable.  Finally,  by 
opening  up  the  forest  to  a  proper  de- 
gree of  sunlight,  the  way  was  prepared 
for  the  germination  of  seeds  that  might 
fall  from  the  old  trees,  in  order  to  pro- 
vide early  for  a  new  generation  in  the 
forest. 

It  will  be  readily  understood,  I  be- 
lieve, that  in  course  of  time  such  a 
forest  would  betray  to  the  eye  a  cer- 
tain gradation  in  the  sizes  of  the  trees, 
and  a  fixed  proportion  in  the  number 
of  those  belonging  to  one  or  another 
species.  To  this  extent  the  selection 
148 


A  German  "Selection  Forest' 


ARTIFICIAL  FORESTS  OF  EUROPE 

forests  differ  from  our  second-growth 
woods  of  the  East;  and  yet,  as  com- 
pared to  the  other  three  European 
types,  their  principal  merit,  esthetic- 
ally,  is  their  naturalness.  Though 
very  different  from  our  virgin  forests, 
they  nevertheless  possess  the  variety, 
cheerfulness,  and  interesting  play  of 
light  and  shade  that  have  been  noted 
in  an  earlier  chapter.  In  Germany 
they  are  usually  somewhat  precise  and 
trim  in  appearance ;  but  in  France  and 
elsewhere  they  look  a  little  wilder,  and 
are  often  enlivened  with  holly 'or  ivy, 
some  sportive  raspberry,  or  other  gay 
shrub  or  vine.  In  European  countries 
where  forestry  has  become  thoroughly 
established  this  type  of  forest  has  grad- 
ually disappeared,  or  has  diminished 
greatly  in  proportion,  in  order  to  make 
149 


FOREST  TREES  AIN^D  FOREST  SCENERY 

way  for  the  other  more  highly  devel- 
oped forms. 

The  young  forest  growth  that  goes 
by  the  name  of  "  coppice  "  is  linked  to 
the  preceding  kind  by  the  association  of 
time,  for  it  is  also  one  of  the  old  forms. 
The  sound  of  the  word  brings  to  mind 
the  copses  of  England,  those  spor- 
tive little  thickets  that  we  may  have 
read  about,  or  seen  running  along  the 
streams,  or  straggling  over  the  hills. 
But  the  coppice  of  Germany  or  France 
is  not  quite  the  same  as  the  copse  of 
England.  It  is  a  young  forest  of  busi- 
nesslike aspect,  in  which  a  design  for 
usefulness  is  unmistakable.  The  pur- 
pose in  it  is  to  reap  an  approximately 
equal  harvest  each  year,  such  as  fire- 
wood from  beeches,  hornbeams,  or  the 
like,  withes  from  willows,  charcoal  from 
chestnut,  or  tanbark  from  oak. 
150 


ARTIFICIAL   FORESTS   OF  EUROPE 

The  means  to  accomplish  the  end  are 
very  sunple.  Only  one  kind  of  tree 
composes  the  coppice,  and  the  forest  is 
graded  in  sections,  each  a  year  older 
than  the  preceding.  It  is  like  a  series 
of  blocks,  in  which  each  is  a  little  taller 
than  the  last.  The  tallest  falls  by  the 
ax,  and  the  next  the  following  year, 
and  so  throngh  the  series  till  the  cycle 
is  completed,  when  it  may  be  resumed 
as  before.  The  repetition  is  possible 
because  a  tree  is  chosen  for  this  kind 
of  forest  that  will  renew  itself  by  nat- 
urally sprouting  from  the  stump  that  is 
always  left  after  cutting. 

The  coppice  woods  must  be  seen  to 
appreciate  their  charm.  They  have  a 
distinct  flavor  and  a  character  that  one 
easily  remembers  after  a  first  acquain- 
tance. ISTot  too  far  removed  from  the 
town  or  village,  yet  often  hidden  in 
151 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

some  secluded  part  of  the  hills,  we  find 
the  coppice  a  neat-looking  place.  The 
small  wood  that  has  been  cut  is  care- 
fully stacked  along  the  roadside  in 
bundles  or  cords.  Within  one  of  the 
sections  we  see  the  wood-cutters  at 
work  with  their  axes  and  bill-hooks, 
and  can  fancy  them  trudging  home 
contentedly  at  the  close  of  day.  We 
find  the  rabbits  taking  the  coppice  for 
their  own,  sporting  about  and  wearing 
tracks  in  the  thickets.  A  quiet  place, 
and  homelike  withal.  We  can  look 
out  above  the  thicket  of  young  trees 
at  the  sky  and  the  older  environing 
woods.  The  sounds  come  mellowed 
through  the  distance  to  this  open  spot, 
as  of  the  heavy  ax  in  the  large  woods, 
or  the  song  of  some  woman  in  the  far 
valley. 

152 


ARTIFICIAL  FOEESTS  OF  EUROPE 

We  have  no  coppice  woods  just  like 
these  in  America.  Our  willow  farms 
are  the  only  ones  that  have  been  sub- 
jected to  a  system  like  the  one  de- 
scribed, and  these  are  entirely  too 
low  to  be  called  woods.  They  are 
graded  in  size  and  age  from  one  to 
four  years,  and  separated  into  blocks, 
just  like  the  willow  coppices  of  Ger- 
many. At  a  distance  the  lithe  stems 
with  diminutive  tufts  of  foliage  at  the 
top,  standing  in  straight  rows,  almost 
as  dense  as  grain,  have  more  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  agricultural  product 
than  a  tree  farm. 

The  Christmas  tree  plantations,  a 
kind  of  forest  gardening,  as  it  were, 
remind  us  of  the  coppice  in  appear- 
ance, but  cannot  truly  be  called  such. 
As  the  conifers  that  furnish  us  with 
153 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

Christmas  trees  are  not  capable  of 
sprouting  from  the  stmnp,  the  growers 
must  depend  upon  planting  for  their 
propagation,  which  is  a  principle  di- 
rectly opposed  to  the  idea  of  coppice. 

Throughout  the  Eastern  States  there 
is  an  abundance  of  broadleaf  stump- 
sprout  thickets,  which  have  come  by 
inheritance  to  the  ground  from  which 
their  progenitors  were  removed  by  the 
wood-cutter's  ax.  While  some  of  these 
approach  nearly  to  the  European  cop- 
pices in  intention,  they  do  not  bear  out 
the  resemblance  sufficiently  for  a  com- 
parison. They  lack  their  system  and 
structure,  though  they  depend  upon 
the  same  power  of  reproduction  for 
their  existence.  Nevertheless,  they 
have  their  own  charm.  I  remember 
one,  at  the  edge  of   a  tall  forest,  in 

154: 


ARTIFICIAL  FORESTS  OF  EUROPE 

which  the  sprouts  were  composed  of 
oak,  beech,  hickory,  tulip  tree,  dog- 
wood, haw,  and  a  few  pine  saphngs, 
all  of  which  formed  a  dense  thicket  of 
young  trees.  In  summer  it  was  pleas- 
ant to  thread  one's  way  through  this 
place,  quite  concealed  by  the  straight 
young  growth,  or  to  lie  down  there 
and  listen  for  a  whole  morning  to  the 
twitterings  and  songs  of  birds,  shut  in 
by  a  wealth  of  foliage. 

There  is  another  type  of  European 
forest  known  as  "  coppice  under  stan- 
dards." This  is  no  more  than  a  coppice 
growing  underneath  a  selection  forest 
somewhat  different  in  aspect  from  the 
one  already  described.  In  the  present 
case  the  selection  forest  is  opener,  the 
trees  being  fewer  in  number.  Ample 
light  is  thus  admitted  for  the  growth  of 
155 


FOKEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

the  coppice  beneath.  The  appearance 
of  the  whole  is  that  of  an  open  forest 
into  which  the  younger  thickets  have 
penetrated. 

The  esthetic  effect  of  this  combina- 
tion may  be  described  in  very  few 
words.  While  the  coppice  loses  much 
of  its  charm,  the  overspreading  forest 
gains  something  by  this  sacrifice.  The 
former  keeps  the  soil  in  fair  and  fresh 
condition,  thus  insuring  a  healthy 
growth  to  the  large  trees.  It  also 
shades  the  lower  portions  of  their 
trunks,  in  consequence  of  which  many 
of  them  develop  into  clean  specimens, 
with  strong,  well-rounded  stems,  and 
graceful,  wide- spreading  crowns. 

The  last  of  the  four  types,  the  "  high 
forest,"  is  the  most  artificial  and  highly 
developed  of  the  series.  In  its  construc- 
15G 


AKTIFICIAL  FORESTS  OF  EUROPE 

tion  it  is  in  some  respects  like  the  cop- 
pice; for,  as  in  that  type,  there  is  a 
uniformity  of  size  in  the  trees  on  re- 
stricted areas,  and  the  species  that 
compose  the  entire  forest  are  very  lim- 
ited in  number.  Coniferous  high  for- 
ests, which  are  the  most  common,  are 
often  composed  of  only  a  single  kind 
of  tree,  and  broadleaf  forests  of  the 
same  type  rarely  contain  more  than 
two  or  three  species.  These  forests, 
like  the  coppice,  comprise  a  full  com- 
plement of  sizes  and  ages,  each  con- 
fined to  a  separate  section;  but  the 
steps  are  not  single  years,  as  in  the 
coppice,  but  periods  of  ten  or  twenty 
years,  or  even  more;  so  that  the  high 
forest,  above  all,  is  a  much  taller  and 
older  one.  The  sections  that  com- 
pose it  are  not  regular  in  outline,  ex- 
157 


FOREST  TEEES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

cept  in  certain  forests  on  flats  and 
levels,  nor  do  they  necessarily  lie 
side  by  side  in  the  consecutive  order  of 
size  and  age.  Finally,  the  high  forest 
also  differs  from  the  coppice  in  the 
manner  of  its  origin;  for,  while  the 
former  owes  its  existence  to  seedlings 
that  have  grown  up  spontaneously,  or 
been  sown  or  planted,  the  coppice  is  a 
young  forest  that  has  sprouted  from 
the  stumps  of  trees  that  have  been  cut. 
Thus  the  high  forest,  while  it  may 
be  compared  with  the  coppice  in  its 
construction,  is  yet  in  certain  respects 
so  different  from  it  as  to  convey  a  very 
distinct  impression.  I  here  disregard 
the  younger  portions  of  the  forest,  for, 
in  the  light  of  the  present  discussion, 
they  are  merely  preparatory  to  the 
mature  forest,  destined  to  be  useful 
158 


A  "High  Forest"  of  Spruce  in  Saxony 


ARTIFICIAL   FORESTS   OF  EUROPE 

only  after  the  completeness  of  age.  In 
the  older  portions  the  one  distmguish- 
ing  characteristic  is  simple  dignity. 
To  this  one  quality  all  other  points  of 
excellence  or  beauty  conform  and  ad- 
just themselves.  The  young  tree  or 
the  casual  shrub  that  may  have  found 
its  way  into  the  company  of  the  cen- 
tenarians, is  welcome;  but  the  absorb- 
ing interest  lies  in  the  noble  grandem' 
of  the  old  trees  that  have  grown  up 
together.  Some,  under  the  influence 
of  better  soil  or  more  light,  have  done 
better  than  others;  but  they  are  all 
sound  and  stately  trees,  and  together 
represent  the  best  product  of  the  forest. 
Long  ago  other  trees  that  grew  in 
their  midst,  but  were  less  promising, 
were  removed  for  the  sake  of  these. 
Under  their  continuous  roof  of  foliage 
159 


FOKEST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

there  is  a  cool,  deep  shade.  The 
ground  is  scattered  with  fern,  or  cov- 
ered with  deep  beds  of  leaves,  or  with 
the  glossy  needles  of  the  conifers.  If 
the  forest  has  originated  from  seeds 
borne  by  a  generation  of  trees  that 
previously  occupied  the  same  spot,  and 
the  seeds  germinated  here  and  there 
and  sprouted  into  a  new  forest  upon 
the  removal  of  the  old,  we  shall  now 
find  the  trees  distributed  in  natural 
positions.  Where,  however,  the  new 
forest  has  been  planted,  which  is  often 
the  case  with  the  conifers,  the  trees 
stand  in  close  rank  and  file,  and  we 
walk  among  their  columns  as  in  nat- 
ural aisles  and  corridors.  Here  there 
is  hardly  a  shrub  to  shut  out  the 
gloomy  distance,  and  only  at  intervals 
a  stray  intruder  with  exceptional 
160 


ARTIFICIAL   FORESTS  OF  EUROPE 

powers  of  shade  endurance,  a  dwarfed 
yew  tree,  or  a  beech  with  refined,  fan- 
like spray,  comes  into  notice  in  the 
vista. 

If  these  are  some  of  the  changes 
that  are  wrought  in  forests  through 
the  application  of  a  new  science,  if, 
through  forestry  in  Europe,  one  kind 
of  beauty  has  passed  away  and  another 
kind  has  been  called  forth,  will  our 
own  forests,  it  may  be  asked,  un- 
dergo in  time  similar  alterations? 
We  cannot  doubt  that  they  will  grow 
more  artificial ;  but  under  the  modified 
application  of  the  science  of  forestry 
to  our  own  conditions,  so  different 
from  those  of  Europe,  the  esthetic 
changes  to  be  looked  for  would  be 
difficult  to  predict.  Nor  would  these 
161 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

changes  be  predetermined,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  would  depend  very  largely 
upon  chance.  It  should  be  noted 
that  forestry  and  landscape  art  are  dis- 
tinct; that  the  former,  ordinarily,  is 
not  affected  by  the  latter,  and  has  its 
own  ends  and  aims  —  those  of  material 
usefulness.  I  say  ordiiiarily^  because 
there  are  circumstances  under  which 
forestry  miglit^  with  slight  modifica- 
tions and  without  a  compromise  to  its 
own  interests,  adjust  itself  to  some  of 
the  principles  of  landscape  art.  In- 
deed, this  possible  adjustment  has  been 
a  subject  of  interest  in  Germany  for 
more  than  twenty  years,  and  the  feasi- 
bility of  a  relationship  between  land- 
scape art  and  forestry  has  been  practi- 
cally demonstrated  by  a  noted  German 
forester,  Herr  Heinrich  von  Salisch,  on 
162 


ARTIFICIAL   FORESTS  OF  EUROPE 

his  own  estates.  This  gentleman  has 
applied  to  them  the  practical  methods 
of  approved  forestry  under  such  modi- 
fications as  his  experience  and  taste 
suggested,  and  has  thereby  not  only 
made  his  forest  profitable,  but  also 
more  beautiful  than  it  was  before/ 

With  respect  to  our  own  forests  it 
may  be  asserted  that  most  of  the  pri- 
vate forest  holdings  of  the  United 
States,  and  probably  all  our  national 
forest  reserves,^  as  such,  are  destined 
primarily  to  serve  purposes  of  utility, 
and  very  often  to  serve  such  purposes 
only.  There  are,  however,  a  number 
of  large  forest  estates  owned  by  indi- 
viduals, and  some  belonging  to  com- 
monwealths and  municipalities,  which 
are  esteemed  as  highly  for  their  scenic 
character  as  for  their  material  value, 
163 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

and  pass  in  the  public  mind  as  emphati- 
cally under  the  name  of  parks  as  they 
occur  to  it  in  the  light  of  financial 
investments.  Such,  for  instance,  are 
the  Adirondack  State  Park  and  sev- 
eral large  private  forest  estates  in  the 
same  region,  as  well  as  certain  large 
tracts  of  exceptionally  beautiful  forest 
in  the  western  part  of  North  Carolina 
and  about  the  head  waters  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, which  have  now  for  some  tune 
attracted  wide  attention  as  desirable 
public  possessions. 

In  such  forests  as  these,  esthetic 
considerations  might  suggest  certain 
departures  from  the  ordinary  methods 
of  forestry.  Some  people  apparently 
wish  to  go  further,  and  believe  that 
certain  portions  of  these  tracts  should 
remain  entirely  undisturbed,  in  order 
164 


ARTIFICIAL   FORESTS  OF  EUROPE 

that  their  primeval  character  may  be 
preserved  for  the  enjoyment  of  all 
future  generations. 

The  idea  of  a  forest  park,  intact 
and  inviolable,  calls  to  mind  our  na- 
tional parks  of  the  West,  which  were 
actually  established  by  Congress  for 
that  very  purpose.  Possessing,  as  they 
do,  wonders  of  nature  and  exceptional 
scenery,  these  parks  have  been  thought 
worthy  of  preservation  solely  for  their 
own  sakes.  This  difference  in  inten- 
tion chiefly  distinguishes  them  from 
the  national  reserves;  so  that,  while 
the  latter  stand  for  the  material  benefit 
of  the  nation  —  whether  it  be  directly, 
in  the  value  of  the  timber,  or  indirectly, 
through  the  influence  of  the  forest  on 
the  flow  of  streams  —  the  value  of  the 
parks,  on  the  other  hand,  speaks  out  of 
165 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

their  own  countenance.  Their  merit 
consists  in  the  influence  of  beauty  and 
sublime  scenery  on  the  moral  state  of 
man.  They  are  healthful,  vigorous 
breathing  -  places,  where  noise  and 
smoke  and  harassing  cares  are  laid 
aside. 

It  is  well  to  bear  this  distinction  in 
mind,  because  it  appears  not  to  be 
clearly  recognized.  While  the  re- 
serves do  not  necessarily  exclude  some 
of  the  special  advantages  of  the  parks, 
their  value  lies,  above  all,  in  their 
stores  of  wealth.  In  this  connection 
it  may  be  said,  for  instance,  that  the 
designation  "Adirondack  Park,"  that 
is  currently  applied  to  the  State  forest 
of  northern  New  York,  is  a  somewhat 
misleading  expression;  for,  although 
its  beauty  is  well  known  and  appreci- 
166 


ABTIFICIAL  FORESTS  OF  EUROPE 

ated  and  the  State  Constitution  at 
present  even  forbids  any  cutting  within 
its  limits,  yet  the  most  competent 
judges  believe  that  the  Adirondack 
forest  is  exceedingly  well  fitted  for  the 
purposes  of  practical  forestry.  Indeed, 
several  private  tracts  within  that  region 
already  constitute  the  best  known  ex- 
amples of  practical  forestry  in  om* 
country.  If,  however,  it  is  intended 
to  separate  certain  portions  from  the 
remainder,  either  within  this  region  or 
that  of  the  proposed  Minnesota  reserve, 
and  to  preserve  these  for  their  unique 
or  exceptional  character,  these  segre- 
gated tracts  are  parks  in  themselves, 
and  should  so  be  called. 

But  the  identity  of  our  five  national 
parks  in  the  farther  West  is  unmis- 
takable;   and   these  would  appear   to 
167 


FOREST  TREES  AND  FOREST  SCENERY 

suggest  neither  forestry  proper,  nor 
landscape  forestry,  nor  even  land- 
scape art.  In  them  nature  speaks  for 
herself.  The  tasteful  and  well  judged 
construction  of  roads  and  trails  that 
shall  be  in  harmony  with  the  scenes 
through  which  they  pass,  or,  better 
still,  that  shall  be  as  unobtrusive  as 
possible,  is  evidently  a  necessity  if  the 
parks  are  to  be  enjoyed  by  large  num- 
bers of  people.  In  exceptional  cases 
the  ax  may  be  needed  for  the  very 
preservation  of  the  forest.  But  the 
principal  care  should  be  to  protect 
these  forests  from  fire,  defacement, 
and  spoliation.  For  to  us  and  future 
generations  the  parks  stand,  above 
all,  as  examples  of  the  glory  of  our 
primeval  forests. 

The  groves  of  big  trees  in  the  na- 
168 


ARTIFICIAL  FORESTS  OF  EUROPE 

tional  parks  of  California,  the  geologic 
wonders  of  Yellowstone,  and  the  speci- 
mens of  arctic  fauna  still  living  among 
the  matchless  glaciers  of  Mount  Rai- 
nier, are  national  possessions  of  great 
interest,  for  whose  preservation  not 
only  Americans,  but  distinguished  Eu- 
ropeans also,  have  pleaded.  These, 
then,  are  ours  for  their  own  sakes; 
but  most  of  our  othei*  national  forest 
possessions  will  undoubtedly  have  to 
submit  to  further  development  and  to 
the  dictates  of  a  sterner  necessity. 


169 


NOTES 

Note  1,  page  5.  There  are  about  fifty  distinct  species 
of  oak  indigenous  to  the  United  States. 

Note  2,  page  23.  The  bloom  of  the  dogwood  be- 
gins to  wither  and  fall  with  the  appearance  of 
the  leaves.  In  the  illustration  facing  page  22  sev- 
eral leaves  are  seen  among  the  bloom,  but  they 
belong  to  the  bough  of  a  neighboring  tulip  tree. 

Note  3,  page  47.  The  juniper  berries  are  in  reality 
transformed  cones. 

Note  4,  page  52.  The  habit  of  the  firs  in  early  life 
is  shown  in  the  plate  facing  page  125. 

Note  5,  page  63.  Curiously  enough,  the  old  Eng- 
lish conception  of  a  forest  was  chiefly  that  of  a 
hunting  ground,  irrespective  of  the  trees  grow- 
ing there.  Consequently  some  forests  were  very 
open  stretches  of  ground. 

Note  6,  page  71.  The  red-winged  blackbird  lin- 
gers in  the  Southern  States  through  the  winter. 

Note  7,  page  163.  German  forestry  —  and,  in  a  less 
degree,  European  forestry  also  —  is  indebted  to 
Herr  von  Salisch  for  elaborating  the  idea  that 
forest  art  can  be  united  with  practical,  utilitarian 
forestry.  His  book  on  "  Forest  Esthetics,"  which 
fills  a  unique  place  in  the  literature  of  forestry, 
is  an  exposition  of  this  interesting  subject,  based 
upon  mature  knowledge  and  experience. 

171 


KOTES 


Note  8,  page  163.  To  the  reader  who  is  not  famil- 
iar with  the  origin  of  our  forest  reserves  it  may 
be  of  interest  to  know  how  they  became  estab- 
lished. By  an  act  of  Congress  of  March  3rd,  1891, 
the  President  was  empowered  to  segregate  from 
time  to  time,  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  forest  areas  situated  within  the  limits 
of  the  public  lands  of  the  United  States.  In  ac- 
cordance with  this  act  proclamations  were  issued 
by  Presidents  Cleveland,  Harrison,  and  McKinley, 
reserving  forest  areas  amounting  thus  far  (Sep- 
tember 1st,  1901)  to  46,398,369  acres,  or  approxi- 
mately 72,500  square  miles.  There  are,  however, 
within  these  areas  numerous  bona  fide  holdings 
of  private  ownership,  in  which  the  owmers  are 
carrying  on  extensive  cutting  of  timber. 

The  reserves  have  been  placed  under  the  au- 
thority of  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land 
Office,  Department  of  the  Interior,  and  are  en- 
trusted to  the  care  of  specially  appointed  super- 
intendents, supervisors,  and  rangers.  Some  of 
these  forest  tracts  are  now  undergoing  a  careful 
study  by  experts  in  forestry,  with  the  aim  of  sub- 
jecting them  to  methods  of  treatment  specially 
adapted  to  them,  in  order  that  they  may  yield 
both  useful  material  and  a  constant  revenue, 
without  impairing  the  productive  power  or  vital- 
ity of  the  forest.  The  objects  will  thereby  be  ful- 
filled for  which  these  reserves  were  established. 


172 


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